


A Friend to Government Pigs

by Roguepen



Series: The Septenary [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Audrey is small and has no money, Bad Decisions, Bar Room Brawl, But they are hiring, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Department of Mysteries, Diagon Alley, Families of Choice, Found Family, Gen, Gotta rebuild the government, If You Squint - Freeform, Knockturn Alley, Leaky Cauldron, Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Muggle-born, Murder, Murder Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poor Life Choices, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, Pre-Epilogue, Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw Graduates are very smart, Ravenclaw Intellect, She's very stressed out, So little common sense, Tags Are Fun, Tags Are Hard, The Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter) is Terrible, aka wartime trauma for everyone, bad ladies doing bad things, but there ARE, mysterious organizations, need therapists, no therapists, what happens when the war ends?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 111,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22842403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roguepen/pseuds/Roguepen
Summary: Audrey Causey is learning how to navigate a chaotic new world as she copes with what she has seen and done during the war as part of a resistance cell. She will meet new people, work to restore peace and have to decide what kind of life she wants to have now that the fighting has ended. But picking up the pieces is never glamorous, it is thankless and not a burden most would choose to bear.Meanwhile, dark forces in the shadows conspire against Audrey, her family and the new world she helped fight for.
Series: The Septenary [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1642141
Comments: 50
Kudos: 14





	1. Interview

_May 31st 1998_

" _Do you have the documents?"_

_The man chuckled, the sound echoing behind his golden mask. "Of course, your connections are very well placed, Milady. I knew you had supporters in the Ministry, but not in such a useful department." He had a voice that was quiet, whispery and plainly subservient to the woman before him._

_The chamber they were sitting in was dark, the only light coming from the candle on the desk in front of him and the window the lady was sitting by as she stared out of it. He was honored to serve a woman of such grace, cunning and intuitive power. Her black hair fell down her back like a river over the back of her chair, highlighted by the light from the moon outside of her window._

" _You're a flatterer; I have no need for that." The woman turned her chair away from the window calling a magelight with a snap of her fingers before laying her hands on the desk before her. "Now, hand them here. I'm sure those researchers from the Septenary have something for me to work with. After all, the old man's been at it for over forty years now. Surely, he'll have discovered something about what we're looking for." She flipped through the papers as she continued to speak. "I'm quite impressed with the plan you've concocted to get these papers, really I am, no need to be modest. Getting what remains of You-know-who's supporters who stayed away from the final battle to burn down the shops run by mudbloods, and keeping them all in Diagon Alley by shutting down the floo to add to the chaos is no small feat. But the icing on the cake is that well-timed reopening of the Septenary's floo to get these papers. I applaud your strategic gifts."_

" _Many do, Milady. The real trick is knowing your opponents on a more…_ personal _level. Perhaps we could work together in the future? I've found this an enjoyable venture." He hoped that would be possible._

_The woman smiled, her face eclipsed in shadow, but the corner of her red mouth could be seen as it turned up in a smile on her pale face. She tucked her deep black hair behind her ears before she spoke again. "As have I, perhaps we should discuss this in more detail at a later date. See if we have similar ambitions. After all, changing the world and showing them the light is no small feat." She smiled, "Now, what can you tell me about the book you hired the boy to steal?"_

" _I can't open it."_

" _What?"_

" _I've tried everything I can think of, but it can only be opened by a spell that I don't have at the moment. I believe the old man kept it under lock and key, so to speak. I believe I was unable to reach it before the shop was reduced to ash."_

" _Well, that's obvious," the woman remarked drily. "I take it it's not in here then?"_

" _I checked. We just got a bunch of diagrams, some notes on the lifespan of dust bunnies, a few essays on literary symbolism, a star chart that compares our knowledge with that of centaurs and a recipe for carrot cake. They're not very well organized."_

" _Well, perhaps there is another way to get the spell." She drummed her long fingers on the desktop and bit her lower lip in thought. "If I recall correctly, the archives in the Ministry have information on many dangerous and illegal books that they've been trying to find for years. If you care to make another plan…"_

" _Absolutely, the dark magic in this book is worth the effort. Trust me." Behind his golden mask, the man smiled._

* * *

_It was a quiet night at the Leaky Cauldron. If one cared to peek through the window of the pub they would find it dark and bordering on eerie if not for the two women playing chess at a small table in the back corner illuminated by a couple of candles as the clock began to chime for the midnight hour. Both were wearing ratty housecoats and completely oblivious to the noise, absorbed in their game and conversation._

_"Audrey, you're going to be just fine. Mr. Dawson is a really nice guy; he's really relaxed about the crazy stuff that goes on in the Ministry. He's perfectly comfortable with the fact he's in charge of the bunch of oddballs who work security for the Ministry. Hell, there's one bloke called Oddball. I'll introduce you; you'd like him, he's a right strange guy."_

_They let a guy called Oddball work for the Ministry?_

_"Lucia, you're not helping." Audrey said drily as her queen moved across the board to take the enemy bishop. "I'm still nervous about throwing in my lot with the Ministry at this point. And who says I'll end up working security with you? That's my second choice."_

_Lucia's glass-green eyes appeared sympathetic as she flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Aud, I have doubts that the Floo Regulation Department will want an angry citizen among them. They're dull, cowardly and you won't enjoy it there at all. You are an all but publicly acknowledged hellion." She paused and examined the chessboard. "Not all of your bosses are going to be like Septimus." She nudged her rook forward. "I can understand why you're nervous about joining the Ministry, really, I was when I first got hired, but things are getting better Audrey. Really they are."_

_Audrey looked up at Lucia before swearing loudly as Lucia's rook felled her queen with a fierce scream. "How can you say things are getting better? Look at what happened last week! Our home and business is literally up in smoke and ashes, and now we're living at the Leaky Cauldron. Which I might add, we have to pay for while trying to rebuild our lives." Audrey rubbed her sore shoulder as she then ordered her knight to take the king. "Checkmate!"_

_Lucia swore this time as her king was brutally stabbed by the opposing piece. "Hey, with both our salaries from the Ministry, and Uncle Septimus trying to find a way to sue the Ministry we'll have the Septenary back in no time at all. Depending on whether or not we're all going to be cheap about rebuilding the shop or not, I truly fear the thought of Uncle Septimus with a hammer."_

_An image of the Septenary rebuilt in all of its shabby glory, then falling in upon itself flashed through Audrey's mind. For some reason, it spontaneously combusted as well. "Yeah, that was a scary image… Thanks Lu."_

_The young woman smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You know I enjoy giving you all those horrifying images right? The look on your face is just so funny."_

_They were quiet for a few moments as they looked around the room while Audrey tried to still her mind and calm her worried thoughts without success._

" _Have you seen Septimus today?" Audrey asked quietly as she began to pack up the chessboard._

_Lucia sucked in a breath and drummed her fingers on the counter. "I haven't seen him since we moved in here. He's still up in his room. Grieving."_

" _Yeah, he wasn't doing to well last time I spoke to him."_

" _I heard, ranting about his half formed revenge schemes." Lucia got to her feet and pushed the chair in and leaned against the table with her hip. "I wouldn't worry about him too much, you know how he gets."_

" _Right, of course," Audrey bit her lower lip nervously._

* * *

_June 6 1998_

The office was cold and drafty. The starch white walls made Audrey feel as though she had finally been sent to the nut house. That trip was long overdue.

"So, Miss Causey," Henry Dawson stated at the other side of the desk. "Why do you want to work as Ministry desk security?" He began to flip through the file in front of him. He looked over Audrey critically as her face reddened. She was small and skinny and her robes were too big. The bags under her eyes could tell stories of late night panic and dreaded nightmares. Audrey knew she was not an ideal candidate for security work in this period of history. "Your past work experience indicates one who would be more fit for a job down in the Department of Mysteries or in the Ministry Archives."

_'I wanted to try and find that rumored Death Eater sympathizer in the Floo Regulations department, but apparently they're not hiring at the moment.'_

"Well sir, I care deeply about the safety of our government officials in these troubled times. I wish to do my part in ensuring that we recover from wartime hardships, and I find this job to be the best way I can do my part." Audrey replied with an almost sincere smile, which never quite reached her pale grey-blue eyes.

The man nodded, Audrey guessed she gave a good answer, even if it made her want to wash out her mouth with soap.

"Who told you about this job?"

"One of your employees, Lucia Selwyn, she's a friend of mine."

"Miss Selwyn?" The interviewer chuckled, "I like her, she's feisty; how long have you two known each other?" The man flipped through the folder on his desk containing Audrey's resume, a recommendation from Septimus she had yet to read, and a few papers written by people she knew well who praised her moral character. One of them owned the most violent bar in Diagon Alley; she was not sure what that one said exactly.

"We've been friends since first year sir. She was very informed about the wizarding world and told me everything she knew about it and things I needed to know on a social level, in exchange I told her about how muggles did things and how I had grown up. We both bonded over our strange upbringings."

"That's nice that you both have maintained a friendship that long and through this whole mess. What pureblood friends I had before the war I don't have now."

"That's sad sir."

Dawson snorted and waved his hand in front of his face, "No big deal, they couldn't play cards that well anyway. Anyway, back to business. Your former employer, a Septimus Lowell, has written at least three pages praising the work you've done for him as a shopkeeper and an Apprentice Researcher. He says that your ' _work has always been above and beyond the call because you throw yourself into everything you do in your work and in your personal life._ ' He says you are _'the more people friendly persona of the Septenary_ ' and he wishes that he could've done more for you during the two years you've worked for him and _'writing this out so that the damned government knows the good thing they're getting_ ,' is the very least he could do." The man closed the folder, "Obviously, Mr. Lowell thinks very highly of you."

Audrey's face turned a bright, noticeable crimson. Septimus Lowell had saved her life and the lives of countless others during the war. He had brought together people sympathetic to the Muggle-borns' plight and managed to get many of these Muggle-borns out of the country with help from those who were sympathetic. Audrey, despite the risk involved, defied Septimus and stayed behind to aid him and her fellow Muggle-borns. They had a nasty row before he gave in. Leaving a man who she loved like a father had never been an option.

Audrey had paid dearly for her compassion. The events that led to the end of the conflict kept playing through her head like a film. Constant, continuous thoughts of smoke, ash and screams played through her dreams. Audrey could not regret the things she had done, but she regretted the continued hold it had on her life.

"Also, this Sam Scully says you are and I quote, _an incredibly intelligent_ _woman who if given the right tools and opportunity could become an indispensible part of any organization."_ He paused, "He also mentions you are a deft hand with various forms of spellcraft."

"I graduated with straight O's on my N.E.W.T.s, sir. I hope I'm as good Scully says I am."

"Straight O's? The only O I got was in charms class." Dawson chuckled, his manner light and teasing. "Did you sleep at all that year?"

"Not as much as I would've liked at the time." She chased a lot of younger students out of her corner of the library so she could study in peace. Audrey shivered, that spot in the library had been burned away by rogue spells during the battle.

"Miss Causey, I have a few more questions for you and then we can finish this up and get you on your way."

Audrey felt the smell of ash and dark magic fade from her senses as she drifted back into the present reality. "Fire away sir."

The head of security smiled. "Why did you leave your former place of employment?"

"No choice sir, we had some structural problems. Our intention is that it is going to be a temporary arrangement." Audrey replied simply. She was not about to explain to this man that she had lost her home and workplace during a riot in Diagon Alley, and almost lost her life in the process of saving Septimus'. She had no need for the sympathy. "I'm hoping to get a job here to help fix the Septenary and continue my apprenticeship fulltime when construction is complete."

"Off the record Miss Causey, to settle my own curiosity, how long does an apprenticeship in magical research last?"

"Seven years usually, seeing as the number seven has many magical properties, and also it's supposed to be lucky. Though some will do three years seeing as the number three also has magical properties, though to a lesser extent. An apprentice studies the craft from their mentor, or mentors if you're working at a larger facility. Part of their education is charts, the study of old languages, numerology, and how our use of magic has evolved from earlier times to its modern uses. Many researchers usually focus on one subject," Audrey loved answering this question. "I've been working for Mr. Lowell since the summer of my seventh year and continued throughout my school year and the holidays."

"Thank you for answering that. Now let's get back to business. Have you ever been involved in any criminal activities?"

"Um… could you define criminal activities?"

Numerous acts of illegal broomstick enchantment could not possibly be on her record if she did not get caught doing it. To her knowledge, it was on her file one time and it was a minor offense under difficult circumstances.

A look of understanding crossed Dawson's face. "I'll rephrase, have you ever been arrested?"

Audrey winced and her hair started to slip into her face. "Once, I'm waiting to get to court to get myself cleared of the crimes of theft of magical power, treason, direct disobedience to the law, and illegal broomstick enchantment. Among other things I was accused of during the war," Audrey answered as she brushed her mousey brown hair out of her pale blue-grey eyes. "You could probably find the files here in the Ministry."

"I see. I'll wager that could take some time with this political mess we're in." The department head stood with a smile, and rolled his shoulder with a loud popping noise. "I feel like a walk, how about you Miss Causey?"

"That sounds fine." Audrey stood and brushed the front of her black robes.

Merlin's beard, there was a hole in the knee of her robes!

"Good, good, follow me then." Henry Dawson walked out the door of his office with Audrey following closely so she wouldn't get lost again like she had on her way to the interview. She had almost not made it on time, but found somebody to ask for directions, who had turned out to be Dawson who had stepped out for some lunch and was running a bit late.

The Ministry corridors on the second floor were long, and open so that one could hear everything going on in the many different departments on this floor. The remains of the Auror department were shouting and swearing admirably about the fact that they had missed the known Death Eater Dominicus Selwyn, Audrey's friend Lucia's first cousin. They were also spiritedly debating the morality of letting volunteers accompany them on the hunt for Death Eaters. Some of the older Aurors were saying that the new volunteers could be put to use in Diagon to help look for the source of the riot that had cost so many their shops and livelihoods'. Audrey wasn't happy about her shop and home being burned to ash, but she didn't want government agents in there mucking things up.

Audrey watched them out of the corner of her eye as she followed Henry Dawson into the lift. The grates moaned loudly as they closed and the lift began to lower itself to the Atrium. The ride was dull and uneventful; Henry Dawson was talking about the many benefits of making a career out of being a security guard for the Ministry. To Audrey, it sounded like something he had said many times before to employees, new and old many times. Perhaps this was a monthly lecture to his underlings.

The grates opened and Audrey followed Dawson onto the main floor of the Ministry. It was a grand, spacious fixture that took Audrey's breath away each time she saw it. The hustle and bustle of the numerous employees could easily have been nonexistent due to Audrey's intense study of the architecture over her head. When she had arrived earlier the underground structure was the last thing on her mind, the first thing on her mind was escape routes, just in case.

Audrey's eyes wandered until they found the fountain in the Atrium center. What was left of it at any rate. She and Septimus had melted down during their escape in mid-April. They thought it was ugly. It still hadn't been repaired yet.

She smiled.

"We're looking for a talented artist at the moment. Someone who can build something to represent the new era of peace." Mr. Dawson explained as he put his hand on her shoulder to start her through the crowd. Audrey turned back for another look at the twisted remains before she wished them the best of luck; she believed this new era was going to take time to define as one that was less blood oriented.

He had navigated them both successfully through the thick crowd of workers and led Audrey to the front desk where Audrey had registered her wand an hour before. The man smiled and waved at Henry Dawson as he and Audrey walked by.

"Bored, Walker?" Dawson asked politely.

"As much as can be expected sir!" The man replied as Dawson laughed as he continued to lead Audrey along.

"We have many different posts around here Miss Causey. The front desk here in the Atrium in the most well known, but we also have recently added posts all over the Ministry. We have a post by the Minister's office, the Archives, and quite a few in the Department of Mysteries depending on what they are doing down there. These are just the main ones, mind you, but we've recently expanded our little empire to include the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and all the other floors." Dawson smiled, "You seem to be a smart girl who I could put anywhere without too much trouble, you'd probably find just observing the people and the things that go on in here to be absolutely fascinating. I know I do."

Dawson turned back around to face Audrey as soon as they had entered the secondary security office, on an off wall of the Atrium away from the high traffic area where the fireplaces were located. The smell of tea and coffee filled her nose as Dawson turned to face Audrey.

"This is our little area, we have a couple of showers and a changing room down those stairs there to the right and warm drinks in our meeting room here. I like to foster a sense of community in my department, we're a team and a sort of family here and I hope you will be happy to see us that way." Dawson held out his hand, and Audrey took it politely as they began to shake hands. "You are my most promising candidate and I'll send you an owl within the next few days for a follow up interview where we will discuss your hours and get you a uniform. Have a nice day Miss Causey."

"Thank you for your time, sir!" Dawson held the door open for her as she left and Audrey managed to contain her excitement until she stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace and proceeded to do a victory dance up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon characters appear next chapter.


	2. First Day

_June 10th 1998_

"Listen up you lot!" The small sea of people who were wearing peacock blue robes straightened visibly, many adjusting the white collar of their ministry security uniform. "With the rise in… er… _unauthorized_ access to the Ministry facility-"

The man standing next to Audrey chuckled.

"It's not funny, Walker. I seem to recall that little old lady giving you a run for your money during that Muggle-born riot in the Atrium a couple of weeks ago." The man called Walker silenced himself immediately as the rest of the department started laughing.

"She was beating me with her cane, I don't hit women!" Walker made a valiant effort to defend himself, but his defense fell on deafened ears.

"Good man, Walker." Henry Dawson waved his hand and waited for resumed silence from his subordinates. His second in command, Isra Nejem, standing at Dawson's elbow gave the crowd a steady look that sent them quickly back into silence. "Now as I was saying, our current system makes it far too easy for people who wish to, erm, prove a point as it were, to get in, and with those Death Eaters targeting Muggle-borns in Diagon Alley, well, we need to beef up security around here. So, here's my proposition. Believe me; it benefits you all quite nicely. Catch a dark wizard anyplace in the Ministry and there's a hefty bonus for you."

Excited babble broke out among the crowd of security guards. Bonuses of any kind in any branch of law enforcement were rare unless you died. That was money only to give to the families of the deceased. Security guards, seeing as their lives were never constantly at risk, never saw one at all.

Audrey Causey looked up at where Henry Dawson was standing behind his desk. He was a rather large man with white hair, his belly hung over his belt and he had a double chin. Now that she was calm enough to take in the details, he looked to Audrey to be in his mid-fifties at best, but had the happy look of a man at least ten years younger.

"Hey, Henry! How much is this bonus?" Walker shouted as the people around his took up the cheer.

Dawson waited for a lull in the noise to answer the question. "Depending on the catch, at least three hundred galleons."

The room went silent for a moment letting the amount sink in. Audrey heard the dull clattering of galleons in her head as sudden visions of eating a four-course meal, sleeping in her own bed in her rebuilt home and reading books while laying on what was left of the three hundred galleon reward money. Agrippa's knickers, she could almost smell the food. It was a fresh honey cooked ham with a side of fancy wine.

She was pulled out of her thoughts with the great thundering sound as the Ministry security, some forty strong, attempted to shove themselves simultaneously out the office door.

Audrey turned around to watch as Lucia Selwyn moved to her side as they pressed themselves against a nearby wall.

"I've never seen these people so excited about sitting at desks before," she commented drily. "I checked the schedule for today. You and I are going to be having fun at the front desk in the Atrium, registering wands and the like, it's quite a busy post these days because we're checking all of our visitors for dark artifacts. I think you'll enjoy that, Aud. Besides, it's a good place to figure out how things work around here."

Audrey looked up excitedly as the last security guard had finally managed to shove herself through the door.

* * *

The constant hustle and bustle was unnerving. The last time she was in the Ministry when it had been this busy was immediately after the war had ended and she was waiting around with her friend and fellow Muggle-born John Townsend for a survivors list. The many escapades that followed were hardly encouraging in Audrey's opinion in Ministry security. Considering they had managed to break into the Minister's office without too many problems to try and find names and information about their loved ones before getting caught and having to leave before the Minister lost his momentary good humor and called in the Aurors.

Some fine Ravenclaw intellect in action.

Glancing over at Lucia Selwyn, who was placing a nervous looking wizard's wand on the scale and chatting with the man in a friendly manner, Audrey was free to let her mind wander for a few moments. She had been thrilled to find out she had been able to secure a steady job, literally dancing her way through the Leaky Cauldron after her interview, much to Tom and Septimus' amusement. Seeing as some of her friends were working here, and Audrey's over-developed senses of vengeance and curiosity had also been factors in her decision. Perhaps this would prove to have long lasting benefits. After all, employees here no matter their station had access to the archives and the ministry library. The thought of all of those books and all of that information made her weak at the knees, but if one wanted access to the more dangerous texts they needed clearance, which Audrey didn't have.

Yet.

The thought of forging a pass had crossed her mind but she had no idea what a pass for that would look like at the moment. She had also taken into account that almost everybody here could spot the fresh meat. Audrey had a feeling most of them were sizing up possible political competition. They had no need to be worried about her; Audrey was a mere security witch in the Ministry Atrium, not the shopkeeper and potentially dangerous research assistant from the Septenary.

Audrey missed the shop keeping already. She had no interest political games.

"Oh, check this out," Lucia said as she dragged a box out from under the desk as the Atrium was cleared of Ministry employees leaving Lucia and Audrey to their own devices. "The security guards have some new toys!" Lucia's voice echoed throughout the empty Atrium.

Audrey leaned over the box for a closer look at the silver sticks. "What are those?"

Lucia picked one up with a rather strange smile on her face. "I believe they are sensory probes, my good friend. And what does one do with probes?"

Audrey squirmed uncomfortably in her chair as she thought back to all of those science fiction novels she had read during her childhood.

Lucia started laughing. "C'mon, Aud! They're going to be useful when we check out suspicious people. And anytime someone says the word probe, people look really disturbed. It'll be fun!"

"I don't trust you with the probes, hand'em over."

Lucia complied saying that she probably wouldn't trust herself with probes either.

They sat at the desk with nothing but each other and a few of the books Audrey had borrowed from John Townsend that morning before they had all part ways at the Ministry Atrium. Truthfully, the books belonged to John's wife, Ellie. Her idea was to give them something to do after all of the employees had made it up to their offices. As security team members, their job was to ensure the safety of the staff and facility as a whole, generally easing the burden on the overworked Aurors and Enforcers who were being called out in massive numbers to deal with conflict suppression. The Wizarding community was still in shock about what the former administration had done to the Muggle-borns and those who had tried to fight back. Audrey's people were lucky until mid-April when Death Eaters, who had finally found out where the Muggle-born Relocation Operation was stationed, ambushed them. Audrey still had vivid nightmares.

The world was also still trying to root out Death Eater sympathizers who were still trying to do harm to the Muggle-born community. Death Eaters who were targeting shops with Muggle-born and blood traitor ties of any sort led the riot in Diagon Alley a couple of weeks ago. Audrey's former place of employment was run by a known blood traitor named Septimus Lowell and Audrey was his apprentice in his studies. The Septenary was burned to the ground while the two fought for their lives and their livelihood.

Bookshops burned so quickly…

There was a dull squeaking sound that echoed throughout the chamber. Audrey and Lucia looked up simultaneously to find nobody was there. They both shrugged at the other and went back to what they were doing. Audrey took her eyes off the statue to find the heels of a pair of disembodied trainers walking across the floor. She elbowed Lucia in the ribs and nodded towards the shoes. Lucia responded with an evil, catlike grin and grabbed a couple of probes out of the box as Audrey cast a spell of her own design.

' _Vestigium.'_ A white light began to follow behind the trainers at a safe distance. She turned back to Lucia who was making motions with her hands. It was a code they had developed during one of the quiet periods during the war to communicate simple messages. Lucia's hands were telling her _"Follow"_ , she then pointed at herself, followed my making the sign for _"Lead"._ Audrey then threw up a barrier line to keep people from entering the Ministry without permission. Anyone who arrived for business would be held at the security desk until she or Lucia returned.

_Three hundred galleons, here I come!_

"You know that guy from Floo regulations is absolutely gorgeous," Lucia said, her voice rising a pitch like a love-struck teenage girl talking about boys with her friends as they stepped onto the lift after the invisible person. "Not all that hard on the eyes for a parchment pusher."

Audrey raised an eyebrow taking the playing up her usual role of the more realistic friend. It was not truly a role, more like their whole dynamic. "I thought you liked guys with muscle? What happened to that Enforcer anyway?"

"He was… Boring." She paused dramatically. "In life and in bed."

The trainers were moving up and down uncomfortably. Audrey tried very hard not to giggle at the uncomfortable possible terrorist. She snorted and hid her mouth behind her hand.

"Anyway Audrey, we need to find you a man."

_Oh, not this again!_

"Lucia, the last bloke I went out with left me for another man." Audrey was not going to forget about that in a hurry.

"So?"

"I found out when I walked in on them snogging behind the counter." It was an interesting end to her first and only relationship.

"Well, it could've been worse."

"How?"

Lucia smiled like a cat and wiggled her eyebrows, "He could have been seeing another woman."

Lucia changed the subject as the lift arrived at the Law Enforcement floor. Audrey was the one who hit the button seeing as she wanted to go as high as possible and above the trainers if at all possible. But the door opened and the shoes didn't move. Audrey snapped her fingers, "I forgot that book I borrowed at our desk!" That was a complete lie.

"We should go back and get it then!" Lucia caught onto things quickly. She looked down at the panel of buttons by the door. "Hey, why is this thing going to the top floor?"

"I must have hit that button too by mistake," Audrey covered while focusing her attention on where she was sure the man's head was. Though her might have been taller or shorter. "We'll ride back down and get it after it stops at the Minister's floor," Audrey fingered her wand nervously as he heart began to accelerate. If the shoes were heading to the Minister's office this might be a very badly planned assassination attempt, so this person may be a complete lunatic. The thought crossed her mind to take out the trainers before her made it upstairs.

But that was not meant to be. Before Audrey could stun the trainers the lift doors opened and the trainers ran out the lift door. Perhaps increasingly disturbed by Lucia and Audrey's conversation.

Audrey followed at a distance seeing as her spell was still in effect, leaving a dull white trail of glowing light. She focused intently on the back of the shoes as she walked after the owner with Lucia following close behind. The trainers began walking faster and Audrey broke into a run as they stopped outside the office door and pushed it open. She was two seconds behind him with her wand out and ready.

It was time to get some money!

* * *

"So, why does Drayfus have a cubicle and we don't?"

A voice from the other side of the thin cubicle wall spoke up with booming tones, "It's so I don't have to see you two until four."

"But we leave at four…"

"That's my point."

Percy chuckled as he flipped through his papers and signed his name to the bottom form. Shirley Walters looked over at the man as she absentmindedly adjusted the nameplate at the front of her desk. "You're mean, Drayfus. You've got Percy laughing at me now."

"Shirley, sweetheart, it doesn't take much for people to laugh at you," Drayfus said from inside of his cubicle his voice laced with laughter. "And I'll stop teasing you when we get a new guy in here."

Shirley blinked, "I didn't know we were hiring."

"We're not, we'll get a new person in here if Weasley decides to leave, which is highly unlikely, or I die. Which is also highly unlikely."

Shirley scowled as she turned her chair towards the filing cabinet behind her and began to place papers in with their corresponding files. Her bottle blonde hair swung around with such violence it hit her in the face. She sputtered as she tried to remove stray strands from her mouth. "Nobody lives forever, Drayfus." Her blue eyes were cold as she adjusted the sleeves of her bright pink work robes to prevent them from getting caught in the drawer and shot a nasty look at her coworker through the wall of his cubicle.

"Don't you two have work to do?" Percy asked as he sent some of his paper to the out box with a flick of his wand before repeating the motion for things to be sent to the Interim Minister.

Shirley sighed, "I came in this morning expecting to do transcripts for the Minister, he cancelled last minute. And I finished my assigned paperwork for the day already. So unless somebody has something for me to do, I'll just have to sit here and look pretty, or annoy you. Preferably both." She smiled mischievously at Percy who just scowled and levitated some paperwork and three separate files onto Shirley's desk with a few flicks of his wand. Shirley stared at the files on the next week's classified war trials, "That's cruel."

"That's a matter of perspective."

Drayfus' disembodied voice cackled from his personal cubicle as Shirley began to work on the new papers on her desk. The office settled into a quiet calm with only the scratching of quills to parchment to still the silence.

At the opening of the office door everybody looked up to find it hang open mysteriously. They shrugged with a passing murmur of it just being the wind and went back to work not noticing the white light seeping through the doorway. Suddenly, there was someone standing in the doorway. It was a small, rather thin looking figure that at first glance was of undistinguishable gender. Closer examination led to the belief that the figure was female.

The young woman scowled noticeably as her eyes looked down at the carpeted floor. Her unnaturally pale blue eyes peered out from behind her shaggy brown bangs, a spell shooting quickly from the tip of her wand to wrap around a mysterious pair of ankles as the woman ran forward. She seemed to hit an invisible wall of some sort and fell to the ground her arms wrapped around something and she gave a wordless battle cry.

The office workers stood up quickly, two peering over their desks wands drawn, the other looking over the wall of his personal space where only his eyes were visible.

"Lucia! I got'em!" The woman shouted to the blonde who had just appeared in the doorway. "Give me one of those probes, quick! Oh boy, a bonus for us!"

"Need some help with the dark wizard Audie?" the blonde asked as she ran into the office with a couple of sensory probes in her hands. "Hey, how do you use these? Do you stick'em somewhere?"

The person Audrey was restraining tried harder to squirm out of her grip at that statement. Audrey swung out with a closed fist and was pretty sure she cuffed him over the head as the invisible man made a noise and stopped moving

"No, you don't stick them anywhere! Give one here!"

Lucia pressed the sensory probe into Audrey's hand. Audrey then moved it through the air hoping it would pick up on something. It remained still and silent. "Maybe I'm not doing this right…"

"What is going on here?" Shirley asked as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"You don't know about the reward for the security guards?" Lucia asked, as she turned to the guards at the door "Hey, you two can go get Dawson can't you?" The men at the door took off. Lucia returned her attention to Shirley, "If we catch a dark wizard we get three hundred galleons at _least."_

That sealed everybody's attention on the struggle taking place on the floor. "Get him girl!" Drayfus shouted as Audrey managed to get the invisible man in a headlock as she tried to wrap her legs around his torso. "You look like you could use the gold!"

Audrey was tossed onto the floor as the man tried to stand only to have Audrey tackle his knees to bring him crashing to the floor once again. His shout was muffled when his face collided with the carpeted floor. Audrey gave a shout of triumph, as she appeared victorious at last.

Then suddenly the door that led to the Minister's office flew open. Audrey looked up quickly as she cuffed the assassin over the head with her fist again.

"What is going on out here?" His voice boomed and it echoed through the room. Kingsley Shacklebolt's dark eyes scanned the room and everybody froze. Audrey glanced over and noticed the man who had the sole cubical in the room had disappeared behind it.

She looked over at the redheaded man who was peering over his desk his face a mixed expression of confusion and anxiety, mostly the former. The two had crossed paths before but Audrey had never gotten his name. Agrippa's knickers what was it?

The Minister asked again, "What is going on out here?" His eyes settled on Audrey and her mouth formed a thin tight line, as her eyes got larger in fear.

"Um, well, you see…" Audrey's face went pink; she hated being the center of attention.

"We caught an _assassin!_ " Lucia shouted causing everyone in the room to turn and stare at her and then Audrey in turn. "We saw a pair of disembodied trainers walk into the lift and decided to follow them and caught someone in the act of possibly coming up here to assassinate you. So, when do we get the Galleons?"

There was a sudden scrambling sound at the door. Some loud shouting, followed by a loud thump, which was confirmed to be Henry Dawson getting knocked into the wall by the security guards who worked this floor by the swearing that followed, then the three security guards tried to simultaneously stuff themselves through the door. Dawson was breathing heavily as he shoved the other two men aside and leaned against the doorframe, "Catch… one?"

Lucia nodded excitedly as she pointed at Audrey and the invisible person she was holding down. Well, less holding down, more like sitting on. If he was conscious, he was not fighting back.

Dawson seemed to take in the scene for a moment before rushing over with his wand drawn. "Alright Causey, get off him, it's a bit hard to hex somebody if one of your associates is sitting on them."

Audrey complied, but not before giving the assassin a swift kick in the leg.

Dawson motioned for everyone to step back as he pointed his wand at the invisible man. "Alright, who are you?"

The person on the floor never got a chance to answer. A strong wind directed from the Minister's wand blew what was covering the man away. It looked like a cloak. And there was uproar from the room.

"Merlin's saggy left-"

"Oh my God-"

"I'm fired aren't I?"

"Oh bless my hat, it's Harry Potter!"

The former assassin rolled over onto his back, squinting at the ceiling as he removed his slightly broken glasses. "What was that for, Kingsley? I thought you knew I was coming?"

"I did. I _thought_ they did." Kingsley Shacklebolt replied motioning towards the crowd looking at the savior of the wizarding world wearily as he removed the rope around Harry's ankles with a flick of his wand. Lucia's mouth was hanging open; Audrey had proceeded to hide her face in her hands. The pink glow of her cheeks was clearly visible through the gaps of her fingers. Dawson and the rest of the security team was looking anywhere else but the scene in front of them. "I thought I had told you all that I was having a visitor who wanted to keep his visit quiet?"

"Why sneak in then?" Lucia asked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Harry Potter smiled as he rubbed the side of his head where Audrey had twice hit him. "I can't go anywhere without reporters and the like finding out and following me around. I get some peace this way. How did you see my trainers anyway?"

Lucia smirked, "Just saw the back of them. You might've tucked that cloak into your trousers or something."

Audrey peeked through her fingers and tried to pretend that this was not happening. She was going to be fired after less then three hours on the job!

There was more rustling paper from the cubicle. The man inside the cubicle's hand popped up holding a small day planner. "Sorry about that Minister, I borrowed this from Weasley this morning to copy. I would've used Shirley's, but the boy has nicer handwriting."

The woman called Shirley made an affronted noise.

Audrey looked through her fingers over at the man with bright red hair and really unusual taste in eyewear; he looked rather pleased with the compliment. She blinked and the color on her face grew more intense. Now that she was looking for a distraction she was able to notice his appearance in better detail. He was tall, thin and kind of handsome. He had nice blue eyes behind horn-rimmed glasses and freckles on his cheeks.

Just her luck, he was cute. Lucia can never find out about that! The teasing would be unbearable.

What an impression to make! Audrey's grandmother would be so proud.

In an effort to preserve some dignity, she tried to sneak past Dawson to the hall door to make her escape; her fingers brushed the doorframe as she took small silent steps to her goal. Before she could slide out, Dawson grabbed the back of her robes to keep her in the room.

There was no place to hide in here! Audrey just wanted to expire in peace and the universe had deemed it too much to ask for.

"Oh, no you don't." Dawson chuckled as he took his eyes off one of the greatest heroes in the wizarding world to look at Audrey and Lucia, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "I told you two we would be looking for dark wizards." He released a deep belly laugh, putting his hand on another security guard for support. "Not dark wizard slayers." He wiped a tear of mirth from his eyes. "This will be all over the Ministry by tomorrow, mark my words."

Audrey felt the color finally drain from her face so fast she felt lightheaded and ready to pass out.

Her dreams of money were fully dashed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do think Harry would have some problems with reporters and a very excited public for some time after the war. He'd probably start keeping his invisibility cloak with him on a regular basis just in case he had to make a quick getaway.
> 
> Audrey's shyness, greed and general weariness of humanity is a flipping gift to write.


	3. Observations

_June 12th 1998_

Henry Dawson was right. Word spread quickly through the elaborate Ministry gossip chain that kept many up to date on what was going on in the other departments. Excluding the Department of Mysteries and its sub-departments, they were a special breed, but Audrey wouldn't know this from all the various retellings of her capture of the wizarding world's greatest hero.

Here she sat minding the Department of Floo Regulations, the exact floor she had applied to originally but had no openings. This was not as good. Audrey's placement here would be uncertain; she had heard rumors that Dawson drew the rookies' placements out of a hat until he found where they worked best. Audrey was a rookie and was going to be moved all over the Ministry until Dawson placed her somewhere on a more permanent basis.

Audrey propped her feet on the desk and pulled her self-inking quill out of her uniform pocket. Audrey planned to spend here shift taking notes on the employees from this department. The rumors of a sympathizer from the Floo Regulations Department made her nervous considering a lot of shopkeepers from Diagon Alley were hurt when they couldn't floo to safety during the riot on May the thirtieth. Nobody could apparate out either do to anti-apparation jinxes placed on the area by the government for safety purposes. Bloody hell she hated these people.

Whipping a piece of parchment from seemingly out of nowhere, Audrey began to draw a map of the floor. The war had ended over a month ago and her survival instincts were still running wildly out of control. Especially in here, though Audrey kept telling herself that if she had broken out of the Ministry once, she could do it again. That incident and the events that led to it were etched in her memory forever.

Most nights, Audrey could barely sleep. Her body shifting restlessly in the sheets that tangled around her body far to tightly like a boa constrictor. She woke up sweaty and exhausted like she had run for a mile from the far-reaching grasp of old enemies. Her dreams were drenched in blood and fire and she often woke up whimpering to suppress her screams until she could drown them in her pillow.

Audrey thanked her lucky stars that Lucia was a heavy sleeper, or it was that sleep aid potion she was taking. Probably the latter.

Audrey yawned and examined the map and realized it was a complete monstrosity, the only thing Audrey could draw was a circle to copy the charts borrowed from other facilities. This looked like a mess of scribbled lines and squares. Audrey was under the false impression she could have made a decent floor map in case she needed to break out in a hurry again, so maybe she'd have some idea where she was going next time. Audrey tossed the map into a wastepaper basket under her desk after realizing that it was a very bad map. She took out another piece of parchment and began to observe the people who worked in this department. Somebody here was a sympathizer, and Audrey was going to find out who it was.

It would make her feel safer.

The first in her line of sight was a plain looking woman in her mid-forties. Her hair was pulled back in a prim, severe looking bun at the nape of her neck. Audrey watched the woman's shoes click across the floor to her desk where she did her work as a secretary to the department head. Audrey had some sincere doubts that a mere secretary would know how to shut down the floo in such a large area like Diagon Alley. She sighed and moved onto her next target.

The second was a large, brick-like man who looked like he had played beater on his old house's quidditch team. Actually he had, Audrey had seen him in passing when she was in school. This man was an idiot, the fact he was a Slytherin was no help to his intelligence. She slipped down in her chair as the brick-man looked over his shoulder.

This was going to be a long day. Audrey felt herself wishing, not for the first time, that the Septenary hadn't been burned down in the riot. She'd gladly kill someone to be curled up in front of the hearth with the latest document in need of translation. Or just out of the Ministry doing anything else at all. Hell, watching paint dry would be more interesting than this.

Audrey made a note on her parchment and resumed her observations.

"Good morning Sloan!" A man said loudly waving down a weedy looking man who appeared to be in his late thirties, nothing else distinctive about him in Audrey’s eyes. "How are things at your end of the department?"

"Everything is fine, "

"Sure about that?"

"No need to worry Harkens,” the weedy looking man replied with an exhausted expression. Audrey got the impression Sloan did not like the other man very much. “We're rechecking what went wrong during that riot in Diagon Alley a couple of weeks ago. We've been all over it since then. It's gotten quite dull really, I'm not sure if we'll ever know exactly what went wrong."

_'Maybe you should actually investigate you cruel, heartless, bastard_ …' Audrey thought as her fists clenched tightly in her lap. In that moment, Audrey noted the man called Sloan seemed a little off. Not the quirky kind she was used to, but just slightly... off. It was the way his eyes darted about the place, never staying on one place long before moving someplace else. He gave Audrey the creeps. She felt her hands shake suddenly as his eyes locked on hers for a brief moment; she recoiled instinctively, her mind going blank as Septimus had taught her.

Sloan rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes darted back to a desk near the back where Audrey presumed he did his work. "I have some paperwork to finish, Harkens. I'll talk to you later."

As Sloan walked away the man called Harkens sighed and said quietly to himself, "Strange fellow that Sergius Sloan. I guess that's what being an Enforcer does to you."

"Pardon me sir," Audrey asked quietly getting the man's attention. "That Sloan fellow seems a bit…"

"Off." The man finished, "I'd be worried if he wasn't.” Harken’s voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned over the desk to get closer to Audrey as his voice dropped to a whisper. “He's been working as an Enforcer for the past decade; he transferred here for his health almost two months ago."

Audrey kept her voice low and soft, aware of the other workers moving around the department. "Why here?"

"The stress of enforcing the law during the war took a toll on him and the higher ups are letting him investigate inside the Ministry for now. Root out the sympathizers and the like.” Harkens paused for a moment to let a couple of pretty women bearing paperwork stroll by. “A word of advice, keep your mouth shut. He's got the power to write your name down and have you fired within the hour. I heard that he's leading the investigation to find out who shut down the floo in Diagon Alley. I've heard any suspects will be harshly interrogated."

"Thanks for the warning."

Harkens gave Audrey a smile as he stepped away from the desk. “Stay out of trouble, kid.”

Audrey scribbled the name Sergius Sloan onto her piece of parchment as Harkens left. Sloan gave her the creeps and something about him seemed off. Something deep down told her that is was more than post-war paranoia.

* * *

"Oh damn."

Lucia looked over at Audrey quizzically as Audrey rummaged through her locker tossing out an assortment of books, spare work robes, a boot, and an unmatched sock. "Audrey, are you okay?"

"My lunch is gone. I had it right here in my locker."

"Well, someone's eating well today."

"Ha ha, that's funny aside from the fact I'm hungry."

Lucia smiled, "Come eat in the cafeteria with me and the other security weirdoes. It'll be fun! And besides, it's about time you all got acquainted."

Getting to know the other security guards at this point was the last thing on Audrey's mind. Since her grand first day the most common question she had been asked was if she had caught anymore war heroes, then they would just walk off laughing. It got to be rather embarrassing after the first couple of times so she had been spending her lunch break in various closets.

The cafeteria was on the main floor at the end of a hall off the Atrium. Audrey and Lucia left the locker room on the second floor and were sucked into the large mass of people heading to the lifts. Audrey winced as a rather large man stepped on her toe and Lucia almost yanked her arm out of its socket to get her to hurry. Audrey sort of spun around on the balls of her feet as Lucia suddenly dragged her out of the mass of people and into the lift. Audrey felt the sudden surge of people that followed pushing her and Lucia to the back, Audrey then felt mildly claustrophobic as employees began to push them both back into the corner.

The lift began to descend slowly to the main floor; there was much discussion from the employees about policy, world affairs, and gossip. Lots of gossip. Gossip was the life of any organization; Septimus often said organizations, societies and longstanding friendships even, could be broken by a single, well placed rumor. Audrey found that fascinating. She closed her eyes and listened carefully to the conversations unfolding around her.

"Did you hear about-"

"How about those stock prices in the Firebolt two thousand-"

"What's for lunch today anyway?"

"I've heard it's soup today-"

"Hey Bob, did you hear about that security witch?"

Audrey stopped eavesdropping at that point.

The lift opened and the mass of people surged forward dragging Audrey and Lucia along with the swarm. There was no way out of the crowd. The crowd poured through the hallway and through the cafeteria doors and lined up single file for their lunch. Audrey blinked quickly trying to figure out how they had arrived so quickly.

“Look alive, Audie.” Lucia pushed a metal tray into her chest.

"Don't call me Audie." Audrey said idly, fumbling with the tray as her eyes darted around the cafeteria in case she needed to get out in a hurry. Those windows were only there to make it look more cheery and hospitable. There were three different doors, one leading to the kitchens where the house elves worked; the other two were for the employees to come in and out for meals. Audrey was alternating her gaze between the beautiful architecture on the ceiling above her and looking at the food she was taking out of the line. "Hey is that pasta?"

Lucia passed Audrey the bowl of pasta as Audrey's stomach rumbled loudly. "You know, I think I'll have some of that to." Lucia paid for both meals and led Audrey through the crowd. "Stay close Aud! I don't want the Unspeakables to do unspeakable things to you!" Lucia laughed as Audrey looked at the researchers under Ministry employment. They looked pale and spoke in hushed, whispering tones over pieces of parchment lying in the center of the table they were carefully moving to conceal from public view. One man looked over at Audrey, his face contorting into a quiet warning. Audrey walked faster to keep up with Lucia as she stopped in front of a table in the back of the large cafeteria. "Wait, it's Thursday."

"What's so great about Thursday?" Audrey asked as Lucia sat down in an empty chair.

"I forgot security eats lunch in muggle London on Thursdays. We'll eat here with John today. Security usually eats where those Unspeakables are today. Remember that."

Feeling strangely like she was back at Hogwarts and the school aged social groupings by house; Audrey sat down and began to eat. The pasta was delicious, Audrey smiled, it reminded her of the school food she had always been fond of. Much better than anything she had in the past year. Eating good food while on the run was next to impossible.

She was so engrossed with her meal she missed the almost simultaneous sound of chairs being pulled away from the table. "Hey Audrey, I thought you were still in that metaphorical hole you said you were never coming out of?"

"Lucia dragged me out John, besides, my hole doesn't have food."

"I was under the impression it wasn't a hole, but more like a closet on the second floor." Lucia said earning laughs from around the table.

Third floor actually, second floor was full of law enforcement.

A woman with black and purple hair and multiple ear piercings smiled at Audrey kindly, "I haven't seen either of you around before, who are you?"

"Audrey Causey, this is my friend Lucia Selwyn," Lucia grinned at the mention of her name, "we work security."

The woman smiled, "Ah, John's mentioned you two before. It's nice to finally meet you in person. My name's Piper Collins, this is Felix Flanders," a burly looking man whose ears were slightly pointed at the tip smiled widely from where he was sitting at the other end of the table. Piper nodded her head at the man to Felix's left. "The guy doing the Daily Prophet crossword is Weatherby."

"Don't call me Weatherby."

"Just seeing if you were paying attention."

"And if I wasn't?"

Piper smiled, "When are you not?"

The man smiled and went on with his crossword, brow furrowed in concentration. He stopped suddenly and looked across the table, his mouth became a tight line and his eyes bulged slightly behind his glasses. Audrey felt herself stiffen slightly as her heart just stopped beating for a moment as recognition set it. It was different seeing him when she was not hiding behind her hands! Audrey wished she could pull off a look of distain of that caliber; he did not even have to speak to let Audrey that she was on some rather thin ice.

"Not you two." He sighed and put his quill down on the table to pinch the bridge of his nose as if to prevent a headache.

Lucia beamed; Audrey tried to subtly slide under the table to make an escape. Freedom could be found in a closet; hiding from people was something she was very good at. She almost made it under the table, but John kicked her in the shin causing her to yelp and straighten up in her chair.

"Must be a dream come true for you," Lucia said sweetly as the man raised an eyebrow. "Seeing the same two beautiful women for the second time in two days, it must be fate."

"I don't believe in fate. Just an unfortunate connection of coincidences."

Audrey snickered as Lucia closed her mouth and turned her attention to her lunch, her expression affronted.

John leaned back in his chair giving the red haired man a barking laugh of approval. "Nice job, Perce!" He turned his attention to Audrey while Lucia glared at John's right ear. "Audrey, Lucia, this is Percy Weasley. He's that friend of mine from the Minister's office."

Audrey reached across the table and shook his hand, trying not to shiver involuntarily at how cold his hands were. Lucia just gave him an acknowledging nod. Audrey tried todistract herself by engaging Piper in a discussion about her job in the Department of Mysteries as Percy went back to his crossword. After hearing "That's classified." for the seventh time there was a sound from the other end of the table. It was a voice asking a question.

"I need a five letter word for alcoholic beverage; third letter is an _o."_

_"_ Booze." Audrey deadpanned as she finished her lunch.

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

Silence took over the table. Audrey watched Felix jam his elbow into Percy's side almost knocking him out of the chair. Shrugging casually at the glare sent in his direction Felix began to initiate a new topic of discussion. He had a look in his eyes that made Audrey nervous.

"So, Audrey," Felix began, "have you heard about that security witch who tackled Harry Potter? I thought the public would be able to show some restraint. Anyway do you know who the crazy witch is because I'd really like to meet her?"

Arse. Audrey had somehow managed to prevent herself from attempting to escape again as her face started to burn in embarrassment.

John changed the subject quickly. "So Aud, how are Septimus' attempts to sue the Ministry going?"

There was a hacking cough from the other side of the table and a couple of loud _thwack_ sounds as Felix and Piper slapped Percy on the back simultaneously. It appeared he had started choking on his drink.

John gave an uncharacteristically sadistic smile, "Tell the old man I'll be glad to throw in my bit."

The coughing seemed to grow more strained at that comment.

Audrey wished to be anywhere else.

"John," Percy said a few moments later, "the Ministry signs your paycheck."

Clearly, this group of people would struggle for a suitable topic that would not put anyone into shock, or death by embarrassment.

"Not for long, I'm hopefully going to be at St. Mungo's as a Healer's apprentice by September. Then I won't need to worry about my narking boss any more." John paused and gave Audrey his full attention. "Did you get a owl with an M.F.R pamphlet yet?"

"M.F.R?" Audrey asked leaning forward in her chair.

"Muggle-borns for Reformation. They're a political party that's sprung up recently, I got a pamphlet the other day, they're a completely radical lot made up of very angry people. If you haven't gotten one yet expect one soon. They're appealing to Muggle-borns, but more to those who stayed in the country during the war. Yes, I'm angry. But I want to move on with my life and put it all behind me."

Lucia drummed her fingers steadily on the tabletop. "I do have some Unionist Party leanings myself. I do agree with their stance on destroying pureblood supremacy laws and ensuring Muggle-born rights. The stuff that happened during the war was pretty sick, I don't want to watch my friends go through that again." She made a funny jerking motion towards John and Audrey. "They're both Muggle-borns and they're like my brother and sister."

The table was quiet again as the other three occupants sorted out what Lucia was saying.

It was Percy who broke the silence, "So, it is Audrey right? What do you think?" He looked as though he was hoping she wouldn't be as radical as John. The occupants looked over appearing interested. Well, they did decide to work here. Which meant they must have had some political and government related interests.

"I'm an anarchist." Audrey replied drily.

John and Lucia roared with laughter as Felix and Piper snickered at the blank expression on Percy's face. Audrey stood smiling sweetly, before bidding everyone farewell and leaving to return to her post.

Or find her favorite closet.

* * *

"Now, what was that Audrey? Did you just tell me you won? Oh you poor, misguided, girl. I have a full house." Septimus Lowell laid his hand on the table and the sounds of anguish from the other six players joined each other in perfect harmony. Septimus laughed as he reached for the money and the _I.O.U._ lying in the center of the table. "Now Givens, I expect you to buy me a drink next week. The rest of you I thank for you patronage."

The rumbling sounds of discontent continued, "I lost twenty galleons to you tonight, five sickles last night, and ten Galleons the night before. My wife is not going to be happy. I'll see you next week, Lowell." The man got up and nodded at the rest of the group and walked for the fireplace to floo home.

"Right then, who wants to play again?" The rest of the players said their hasty goodbyes and lined up to use the floo. Septimus shrugged and began to count the night's winnings. "That Givens' boy has no gift for card games and more money then he knows what to do with. All the better for me."

"Yeah, everything you get's going back to reconstruction, right? By my calculations we should have the shop back to full operating capacity by this time next year. Want to see my calculations?" Audrey asked as she whipped a sheet of parchment out of the sleeve of her robes.

Septimus reached for the parchment pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, mouth set in a firm line. "Audrey, in the future, please remember that we need to pay for our rooms here and eat Tom's cooking."

Audrey took the parchment back quill already in her hand. "Oh, right, I forgot about the food. Let's add another couple of months to my original estimation then."

"Make it four; I don't trust your math."

"I always said you were a smart man."

"And you were right."

Audrey chuckled as business at the Leaky Cauldron began to disperse for the evening and Septimus took another swig of firewhiskey. Septimus Lowell was a researcher into the origin of magical power, among other things, and also ran a bookshop known as the Septenary in Diagon Alley to help fund his research. He and Audrey had struck up an interesting relationship as apprentice and mentor. Audrey also thought the man was a bit nuts, she had reasons for it.

Despite being a pureblood, Septimus had helped many Muggle-borns out of the country and away from danger during the war. The old man then attempted to talk Audrey and her friend John Townsend into leaving, both refused vehemently and remained to help fellow members of the Muggle-born community out of the country. Audrey could thank Septimus for those extra criminal charges that were now on her record following the trial.

Septimus was gray-haired and looked almost seventy, not really the conventional age of a resistence cell organizer, though Audrey was not entirely sure how old he actually was. It was hard to tell with wizards and witches, magic kept them sprier than their muggle counterparts. He was grizzled and scruffy with a perpetual five o’clock shadow, but attempted to look dignified in a tatty red waistcoat and collared white shirt. He had a straight nose and steel grey eyes framed by wire glasses and thick eyebrows.

Audrey stretched, her shoulders cracking with the movement. “Any news?”

“Nope, same old problems, since I can’t get into Gringotts for my emergency funds, it also means I can’t get a loan to start rebuilding the shop before the Ministry pulls its head out of its arse.” Septimus sighed. “We may be here longer then we planned unless we get a miracle.”

“Or we get called before the Clemency Committee to restore our access, though that could take ages.” Audrey pinched the bridge of her nose to try and starve off a headache. That would be a nightmare of things nobody from the Septenary would want to discuss.

“Anyway, on a less depressing topic, I found some things you might want to read.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small book the size of a fingernail and laid it on the table. It grew quickly to their normal size. “You were finishing a paper on blood magic when the shop went up, right?”

Audrey sighed, she was almost done with the paper, or at least the first draft of it.

“Well, these will help. A colleague of mine thought your subject was quite interesting and sent a replacement for one of the books you were sourcing.”

_Runes, Glyphs and Magic Circles_ , Audrey felt her hands begin to shake as she moved the book closer to her. The complex, intricate designs on the front cover failed to scratch the surface of its contents.

“Thank you!”

The old man waved his hand dismissively as he rose out of his chair, steadying himself with his cane wincing as his shoulder cracked loudly. "Alright, I'm going upstairs." He put the money in the pocket of his robes. "Night kid."

"Goodnight! It was good to see you out of your room again…"

Septimus scoffed, "I'm done grieving, I'm ready for action!" He tapped his cane on the floor leaving a small burn mark on the floor with the force of his enthusiasm. Septimus quickly feigned an innocent expression. "Oh, don't tell Hannah."

Audrey laughed. "I won't say a word!"

"Good!" Septimus waved and hobbled up the stairs with the support of his cane. “And I won’t tell anyone what you did to the Potter boy!”

Audrey’s face burst into a vivid pink. “W-Who told you?”

Septimus stopped halfway up the stairs with a malignant, teasing smile. “Lucia.”

There was a strangled noise from Audrey as Septimus’ fading laughter echoed down the stairs. The steady tap of his cane on the wooden floor could still be heard as he entered his room on the floor above.

Audrey propped he feet on the table and pulled out the notes she had taken during the course of the day. She was reading and adding to her notes about the Floo Regulations department. Sergius Sloan… what was his problem? Was he a man who had been stuck in the office for too long or a squirrelly looking nutcase? Could he be the connection in the Floo Regulations department? No, he was off, but Audrey was having some sincere doubts about his ability to commit a serious crime.

Audrey placed her notes on the table next to the lantern sitting on the table. Were these the kind of questions her father, a detective, asked himself as he tried to solve a case? From what she knew, he was a man who relied on cold hard facts. Audrey shook her head, thinking about Aran Causey left a sour taste in her mouth. Relying on her gut reactions to these people was not going to get her answers. Many of these reactions were of the nervous, gut lurching variety. Perhaps she was too biased about recent events to make a decent judgment.

A couple of hours passed, filled only by the intense, rapid and periodic scratching of her quill.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft footsteps coming down the stairs. Audrey looked up quickly, not realizing she had drawn her wand.

"Audie? Why are you still up?"

"Just going over some stuff Cappie." Audrey paused as the ten-year-old boy came into full view of the candlelight. The fringe of Cappie’s black hair peeked out from under the brim of his cap, the light from the lantern only made the shadows under his eyes more prominent. He looked remarkably like his mother. Audrey lowered her wand and slipped in back into the holster around her leg. "Why are you even out of bed?"

"Couldn't sleep," Cappie answered simply as he adjusted the brim of his cap.

Audrey knew the reason was more complicated than that, but she wasn't going to press the issue tonight. If Cappie were to talk at all about his own traumas, it would be on his own terms at a time of his own choosing. Audrey could not hold bad dreams against him as a reason to fear sleep, nor could she hold reservation on personal matters as a something to be immediately fixed.

The child reached for the parchment and pulled it towards him. His grey eyes widened slightly. "What _stuff_ are you going over? Are you spying on someone?" He looked lively, the last thing Audrey needed at midnight. "Can I help?"

Audrey paused for a moment as if carefully considering the option. "Yes, if I find something I need stolen I'll let you know."

Cappie's face burned pink, "Can't you just let that whole book stealing thing go?"

Audrey smiled, "No, I've told you already that it was a very dangerous book you stole. That's why you're paying your debt to the shop, remember?"

Cappie yawned, "Bit hard to pay a debt to the Septenary when it's been burned to the ground."

True. Though it gave Septimus a good excuse to catch the son of trusted friends who had… Audrey closed her eyes and tried to send the images away. A bond of honor and debt got Cappie into their care, regular meals kept him there. The boy had done everything he could to survive the war, just as his parents had and Septimus would honor their sacrifice by caring for their son.

Someday, she would have to tell him everything about the war. What his new guardians and his parents were involved in. What they had done to survive, to resist tyranny. The lives the Garlands had saved before they lost their own. Audrey hoped their son could forgive them for leaving him behind. It was a lot to ask of a ten-year-old boy.

Audrey would make sure that Cappie finished growing up in a world as safe as she could make it.

No more running terror campaigns on Death Eater supporters of all sorts, from attacking the homes of known supporters, ambushing Snatcher groups and raiding carriages that carried groups of Muggle-borns to Azkaban. That was done. Audrey had to live a quieter life now. Her focus was now on Diagon Alley, what she could do here to make the world normal again for the people who made it their home.

"Come on, back to bed with you." Audrey pulled herself from her thoughts and stood up, putting her papers into the folder that she then shrunk down to fit in her pocket and her new book following suit into her pocket.

"What's so dangerous about that book anyway?" Audrey put her hand on Cappie's shoulder and guided him to the staircase. "It's a book! You can find them anywhere. That one was no different then any other book."

Audrey flinched at the step beneath her creaked and she moved to hold her robe up to ascend more easily.

"Don't judge a book by its cover." Audrey paused as they entered the corridor to their rooms and her voice softened so she would not disturb anyone. "It's not what was on the cover, it's the stuff inside that makes it so special."

"What was in it? The man never told me, he just said it was required for things a child had no business knowing."

Audrey shrugged. "I don't know what was in it. Septimus had a spell to open it, but all that was in it were blank pages. Ink never stayed on the pages; it would just fade away when I wrote in it. Septimus was hoping to sell it to a researcher he knows who specializes in cursed books."

"Sell it?"

"Septimus and I don't know enough about cursed books to feel safe working with them.”

Cappie gave Audrey a look of intense confusion. “Septimus runs a bookshop.”

“He has no interest in cursed ones. Books with curses in them can be centralized in the pages or in the binding itself. It's risky if you don't know what you're doing." Audrey rubbed her left shoulder that held proof of the statement in a dull jagged scar. It reminded her of more youthful, foolish days. "Septimus hates working with them. Now, Iacomus Swain is a specialist in the area who goes to Knockturn Alley to find cursed objects for his research. Septimus will sell him the weird stuff he finds."

"Then why was in on display in your front window?"

"I'm not sure, take that up with Septimus."

Cappie's gaze grew more focused and concentrated as he looked at the door to Septimus' room. There were a series of dull clamors and other noises coming from the other side of the door.

The two figures stood in silence as they listened to the noises from Septimus' room and the creaking floor above them. Cappie shifted from one foot to the other and crossed his arms in a form of self-comfort and warmth in the mild chill in the corridor.

Audrey was about to bid him goodnight when he suddenly spoke and broke the silence.

"I hear you yelling at night."

Audrey's feet froze to the earth as the rest of her body stiffened.

"I just wanted to ask if you're okay." There was suddenly warmth at her side and arms wrapped around her. Cappie's hold tightened and Audrey rested a hand on top of his hat and bit her bottom lip as she began to shake.

"I'm alright, I'm sorry if I woke you." Audrey turned as Cappie loosened his grip as Audrey put her hands on his shoulders and bent down so she was able to look into his eyes. "I don't want you to worry about me, I'm the one who's supposed to worry about you."

"I know, but nobody else seems to be worrying about you!" Cappie's jaw jutted outwards in a stubborn manner that reminded her of his father and made Audrey smile. "Septimus has holed himself up in his room doing Merlin knows what and left you to deal with the rest of us."

A chuckle escaped Audrey's throat. "Oh yes, the man's a paragon of empathy." She pulled Cappie into a hug and flicked his head affectionately as she pulled back. "I'm not dealing with any of you. You are all my family, and that means seeing you all is not a chore, I try to help you with your problems because I love you all very much." She pulled his cap over his eyes and Cappie laughed from the action. "I am going to be just fine. We are all going to be okay."

Cappie shuffled about nervously. "You sure?"

"I'm positive. Now, goodnight and off to bed with you." Audrey stood back up and Cappie put his hand on the door handle to his room.

"Goodnight, Audie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That family of choice tag is going to be well used.
> 
> You can draw your own conclusions about Audrey's anarchist comment.


	4. Meetings

_June 15th 1998_

"Rena! _Rena!_ " Cappie shouted as he ran down the streets of Diagon Alley waving his hands excitedly over his head to get the attention of a small, slight girl walking down the street in the early morning. The girl stopped and turned around, tucking her wavy blonde hair behind her ears. "I think I found him, Serena!" Cappie stopped in front of her breathing heavily from the run from the Leaky Cauldron to the entrance to Knockturn Alley. "I really think I found him. You were right, he's still alive!"

Serena smiled wolfishly, "Then where is he? I've got a score to settle with him and I'd rather do it sooner than later."

Cappie leaned away from her slightly; Serena's passion and ruthlessness scared him. Some deeply seeded feeling in his gut told him Serena already had a plan for her mother's murderer's disposal. She might also have it centered around his involvement. He remembered the gruesome scene and Serena's screams as he and the other children held her back. Perhaps saving her life with that action. He and the other children swore revenge against Selene Scoresby's killer, but had found no leads to find the man. Cappie knew where he was now thanks to Audrey's notes about the Floo Regulations Department. It had included a very familiar name that made chills rise up Cappie's spine.

Sergius Sloan.

That man's actions changed Serena in the worst way. This whole war had changed everybody. Cappie Garland no longer had the pleasurable innocence of childhood, he thought through his conflicts with others, and always kept his eyes open for the nearest escape route. Serena just went wild, driven by her desire for revenge. She disappeared into the depths of the criminal underworld looking for information on Sergius. Now that Cappie had given her what she had been looking for Serena was going to do something rash, he could feel it in his bones.

Not even old enough for a wand and planning a killer's murder. Where had the world gone so wrong?

"He's in the Ministry, Rena. Floo Regulations."

Serena paled. "Damn. How am I going to get to him then? All my plans involved him going into hiding after the war ended.” She began to pace like a caged lioness. “The Ministry mustn't know he was involved in a murder then… I need a way in without bringing attention to myself."

Cappie tried to dig the toe of his shoe into the cobblestone street. His head told him to keep his mouth shut; his heart was saying something completely different. "Sometime during the summer,” Cappie’s spoke slowly and thoughtfully, “Ministry employees can bring their children into work with them to see how things are run."

"How is that supposed to help me?"

Cappie swayed back and forth, his voice low and nervous. "I can give you directions to the visitor's entrance and give you the pass code. If you clean yourself up you should blend right in." Cappie brushed his shaggy black hair out of his eyes as he watched Serena wearily.

Serena smiled her wolfish, predatory smile once more. "Excellent. It's a good plan. I'll need you to help me find him and get him alone. We'll talk about this later." Before Cappie could fully realize what he had done Serena had taken off into Knockturn Alley.

* * *

Audrey Causey had no idea of the children's dealings, for why would they tell her these things? Audrey may have been able to put a stop to it had she known, but she didn't know about it and her life pressed on unaware of assassination plans made by children.

The Sneezing Snitch was a shady pub located in Diagon Alley infamous for its nearly nightly brawls. Though it was now becoming famous for its continuous playing of the piano by the pianist. Sebastian Harper played through each brawl with a smile on his face and managed to not get hit by the flying bottles. This impressed Scully, the owner and barkeep, greatly. The Sneezing Snitch also hosted the meetings of the Diagon Watch. Since the end of the war petty crime in the Alley had risen, much to the disgust of the local shopkeepers who then decided to take action. The Watch was the brainchild of the owner of the local sweet shop Russell Bennett, an active young local leader with an intense streak of idealism and a need for rebellion rattling in his bones. The Watch did patrols through Diagon and Knockturn Alley on a rotating basis. Audrey would have to check again about when her next rotation started. While they had no real success yet, it had gotten very large very quickly.

It didn't take long for the government to send an Enforcer out to take charge.

Celeste Cadwallader was that Enforcer; despite being from the Ministry she was proving to be rather popular around Diagon Alley. Her stoical persona, stern fairness, and desire to keep locals involved in any and all investigations were a big help in the matter and was beginning to build trust between her and the local community, thereby reestablishing trust between the community and the Ministry. Audrey believed she was the only Ministry employee most of the locals trusted at this point. Even Audrey would admit under duress or a pint that she was gaining some respect for Cadwallader; she was blunt, but kind to most people unless they said something stupid. Which was often and results often amused Audrey and her friends.

Pulling out a chair near the back of the Sneezing Snitch and propping her feet on the table Audrey made herself comfortable for the wait. It was one of those rare occasions when she beat Septimus to a pub. She usually spent her evenings trying to locate him after he went out for a drink. That was not going to occur this evening seeing as Septimus was coming here for the meeting. He wanted to be there in case Cadwallader had any suspects; he would rather hear the information first hand and have a bit of fun with some of the other shopkeepers in attendance.

Audrey pulled a piece of parchment out of her sleeve to take notes. Audrey had her doubts that any answers to the shopkeepers' questions would be answered tonight alone, but just in case she intended to be prepared.

"Hey, Aud, this seat taken?" John Townsend asked as he pulled out the chair next to her and dropped down into it with a heavy sigh. "How's work going?"

"It's been odd, when are you getting out of the Ministry?"

John smiled, "St. Mungo's opens its apprenticeship program at the end of the summer. I've sent in my application, and I have an interview and a pre-entry exam coming up. I'll still be working at the Ministry while I'm doing the early stages of the program but I really think I can do this."

Audrey smiled, "I know you can, let us know if you need any help."

"Well, now that you mention it…" There was a sudden thud of a stack of books flew out of John’s rucksack and landed hard on the table. Audrey's feet flew off the table from the impact and she almost tipped the chair over in shock.

"Merlin's pants, when's your exam?" She grabbed the edge of the table and pulled herself forward back onto all four legs of the chair.

"The end of the summer, I've been reading any textbooks I could get for years and this is the exam material I'll need to know. I've got one on wand movements that you'd be able to help me with, Ellie's going to quiz me on cases and the results of spell misfire. There's other stuff too, but those are the things I need to work on the most."

"Good luck to you, Johnny-boy." Audrey looked up to find Septimus looking at the books over John's shoulder stroking his grey scruffy beard curiously. "Hmm, that looks familiar." He plucked a book off the top of the pile and flipped through the pages. "I read this book years ago during my time in the Auror Department. They have Healers reading this to? Is this a new edition?"

Audrey and John shrugged as Septimus checked the publication date.

"Ah, they went into reprint. Alright, what does an old timer like me need to get a drink around here?"

"Say the magic word," Audrey said flatly.

Septimus just smiled, "Of course, Miss Manners." He turned to the barkeep and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Oi, Scully! Give me some booze!"

Audrey felt her head hit the table as John roared with laughter as Septimus’ magically enhanced voice echoed across the room and over the sound of the other patrons.

Scully's voice sounded from the under the bar. "I'm closing your tab!"

Audrey struggled to breath through her laughter after hearing Septimus' indignant noise.

"I changed your nappies!"

A couple of the other shopkeepers began to howl with laughter as a third began asking how old Septimus actually was.

"That should entitle me to free whiskey for the rest of my natural life."

Scully's eyes peered over the countertop, like a turtle peeking out of its shell, a faint blush around his cheeks. "Then I should have closed your tab long ago."

Septimus gave a deep belly laugh as he reached for the flask hanging off his belt. "He's got a point." He took a drink from the carefully engraved flask and smacked his lips together as he put it on the table next to Audrey.

She took a moment to admire the careful, delicate engravings of leaves and a great tree on the silver flask. If she looked really closely she could see a few names on it but the artwork always seemed to move as if to conceal them from prying eyes. The one thing that was not making an effort to be hidden were the initials on the top _S. P. Lowell,_ though those letters were more recent then the ones that kept capturing Audrey's attention as these seemed lined in copper.

She observed the arrival of some of the last stragglers for the meeting. Russell Bennett gave her a quick wave as he came through the door and tried to come over before Hardin Grover grabbed him by the arm, proceeding to pull him over to a table near the bar. Russell gave a quick glance over his shoulder at Audrey before giving in to the older man’s demands.

Celeste Cadwallader came through the door next, walking to the front of the room and stood ominously in front of the bar with her arms crossed as she waited for everyone to calm down so she could begin the meeting. Cadwallader was olive skinned with deep brown eyes and matching hair pulled back in a tight bun except for a few escaping strands by her face. She had a round, pretty face that at first glance gave her a look of gentleness instead of a required severity until she fixed someone with a naturally menacing scowl.

According to Russell, Scully thought she was amazingly beautiful, he just had not admitted it to himself yet.

The room quickly grew silent.

Cadwallader smirked, "Who wants to start the meeting tonight?"

That evening's meeting was the most loud and anti-Ministry so far. No amount of public respect for Cadwallader was going to prevent the locals from speaking their mind about what had happened and tell Cadwallader to tell her Ministry friends to hurry up and find out where the rioters were hiding.

A man sitting at a table near the bar stood up quickly and shouted, "See here Cadwallader, if your high and mighty Ministry doesn't find out where those bloody Death Eaters are hiding they're going to have more problems than they can handle. I think they've reached their limit already." Cadwallader bristled like an angry cat. "And your lot will have a rebellion on your hands if this isn't resolved quickly."

Audrey shook as she listened to Givens' angry speech and the non-subtle threat it contained. A few of the other listeners who weren't nodding in agreement stood up in Cadwallader's defense.

Tony Palmer, a newcomer to these meetings, stood and said, "With all due respect Givens, rebelling against the Ministry would not be a good move. They'll probably think we're Death Eater sympathizers or something."

There was a low rumble of agreement from the others.

"Hey Tony, those Death Eaters tried to kill me, and the Ministry tried to suck out my soul, I'm on nobody's side here!" Audrey shouted over the rumble of voices. Those sitting nearby laughed. "Either way this goes I look sketchy."

"Tony's right, we raise hell and cause problems there's no telling what will happen. We'll most-likely be taken in for the same interrogation methods used on Death Eaters and similar criminals." Lucia Selwyn stood in the doorway. "Sorry I'm late by the way."

"It's all right, Lucia!" Scully shouted from behind the bar, "Have some wine! We're going to need it tonight."

A man sitting at the table in front of Audrey stood up, "Yeah Selwyn, your family would know all about those methods used on You-Know-Who sympathizers, wouldn't they? I guess you'd know a lot about that particular topic yourself."

John, Audrey, and Septimus stood quickly and pointed their wands, (Or in Septimus' case a cane), at the back of the man's head.

"Hey Fowler, just so we're clear, it's true the Selwyn's are known practitioners of the Dark Arts and You-Know-Who supporters and that they're a right foul lot to begin with.” She calmly picked up the bottle of wine offered to her and caressed a full wine glass. “But let's remember one little detail. They are not my family," Lucia smirked and sipped her wine, much to Fowler's confusion, " _my_ family is standing right behind you with their wands pointed at the back of your head."

Fowler turned around slowly to find Audrey's wand dead even with his nose. Audrey's voice was cold and when she spoke it sent chills down the spines of everyone inside the Sneezing Snitch. There was ice forming at her feet. "Insult my family again, I dare you."

"Don't insult my niece by comparing her to those worthless bigots we have the misfortune to be related too." Septimus said softly as the pub remained silent from Audrey's statement. Septimus never drew his wand unless he was going to use it; he rarely used it for idle threats.

Celeste Cadwallader looked at every attendant to this meeting and smiled grimly. "Anyone else have anything to say?"

The pub remained quiet.

"Good, let's keep it that way. Miss Selwyn, you may take a seat. Causey, Lowell, Townsend put your wands away before you put Fowler's eye out. Yes Lowell, that does include your cane, don’t make me write you up for street dueling again."

Lucia moved quickly to the empty seat that her family was sitting at. As Lucia took her seat she pointed her wand at the leg of Fowler's chair and started trying to unscrew the leg of the chair.

Audrey kept her eyes on Cadwallader as she began to speak again. "Now that we've cleared the air in here we can talk about the real reason we're all here. I want you to tell me anything you have heard about the targets and causes of the riot you have heard about since our last meeting. Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

The Sneezing Snitch remained silent for a moment before it broke out into an excited babble. The locals had had time to swap theories, wild and outlandish ones that had only grown more so since the riot. One theory that Audrey had found highly entertaining was one involving the Ministry trying to cover up an experiment gone wrong in the Department of Mysteries. Another was one involving a huge cover-up of some sort, but those were only the ones Audrey had overheard while she hung around the Leaky Cauldron during the late nights while she played cards. Some she had heard from people where were not intoxicated involved the targeting of Muggle-borns. There was a lot of evidence to support that theory, most of the shops burned down were run by Muggle-borns, but there were also some run by half-bloods and blood-traitors like Septimus. Many people did not want to believe that attacking the businesses of Muggle-borns was the only reason.

"I heard it's part of a plan for You-Know-Who's supporters to attempt another take over!"

"What if they were after something?"

"C'mon Quincy, they were after _someone!"_

"Bull! It was a random act of violence. Nothing more, nothing less."

Audrey started scratching down every theory she heard.

"I heard a rumor that it was a big political statement by pureblood supremacists."

John hunched his shoulders and clenched his wand tightly in his hand.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Someone shouted sarcastically as the pub erupted in laughter. Fowler's chair suddenly giving way beneath him caused the patrons to laugh even harder as he tried to repair it and ask how the leg had managed to come off as Lucia feigned innocence by finishing her wine.

Septimus leaned over to read what was being written on Audrey's parchment while the patrons began to make several bad leg puns. "Nobody here has a clue, do they?"

Audrey shook her head as Lucia stood up and mentioned a rumored revenge plot and got everyone back on topic to keep Fowler distracted so he wouldn't attach Lucia to his busted chair. Septimus took a long drink from the flask of whiskey on his hip. For the next hour, the rumors grew crazier as everyone became steadily drunker. This led to one of the more civil brawls ever experienced in the Sneezing Snitch.

And it all began with one little remark from Septimus. "Hey, Fowler, I think you owe me some money and a drink."

Fowler had then drawn his wand and several others had followed suit, jinxing their enemies and business competition.

Audrey yelped as a leg-locker curse skimmed the top of her head. She then ducked under the table with John and Lucia following as Lucia held a bottle of wine close to her chest to protect it. Septimus was laughing manically as he shot stunners into the crowd. Audrey always knew the man was mad. She looked at John and Lucia who had placed their hands on the table's underside ready to flip it over to use it as a shield. Audrey took out her wand as her friends flipped the table over and she began shooting stunners into the crowd. Somewhere near the bar Audrey heard Cadwallader calling the meeting to a close as Sebastian Harper played a fast upbeat song on the piano.

* * *

"Hey, does my lip look swollen to you?"

Audrey took a quick look at John's lower lip. "Yeah, I think it's a bit swollen. What hit you?"

"Your elbow."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Ellie will, but I'll just tell her it was a freak accident involving a spoon."

"Why a spoon?"

"I have no idea."

The two continued their walk in silence. Septimus and Lucia had left after the fight while John and Audrey stayed to help clean up the mess. Septimus being too sloshed to be of any help, Lucia volunteered to take him back to the Leaky Cauldron so she could take the bottle of wine she had saved from the fight home for a peaceful evening. Audrey wondered how Septimus could do this on an almost nightly basis. She also wondered how Lucia had snuck the bottle past Scully's well-trained gaze.

John stopped and turned around suddenly. Audrey raised an eyebrow as she followed John's gaze finding this scene oddly familiar. The sound of John's muttering, "That is sad," never registered in Audrey's mind.

The scene was familiar enough; only now Audrey could put a name to the tall, redheaded man who was helping the surviving twin home.

"Maybe we should give him a hand," Audrey said quietly. John winced as George began to sing a wizard drinking song and fell over. "That's nice."

"Let's go Audie," John said as he jogged over towards the two redheaded men. "Hey, Weatherby, you want some help?"

Audrey rolled her eyes as she followed John to help pick George up off the street.

"Don't call me Audie."

"Cappie calls you that."

"He's a kid!" Audrey huffed as John put one of George's arms over his shoulder. "He cheats at cards by the way."

"Noted," John chuckled as Percy put George's other arm over his shoulder. "How've you been Percy?"

"I've been better!" Percy replay as George suddenly burst into song, surged forward and nearly took the two men down to the street below. "George, stop that!"

" _There once was a wizard with a very large wand!_

_Whose lass did not know what to do-"_

" _GEORGE!"_

Audrey's hand flew up to her mouth to muffle her laughter, causing Percy to glance back at her in red-faced embarrassment. John was biting his lip so he would not laugh.

"I am so sorry," Percy said quietly as John put a silencing charm on George so he wouldn't wake the neighbors. "He doesn't usually sing."

"I've heard worse." Audrey laughed harder at the plainly confused George who was moving his mouth and trying to finish the song while under the silencing charm.

They arrived in front of George's shop after a blissfully silent walk down the near empty street. This was Audrey’s favorite time of night, no customers, and no bustling crowds, just a productive kind of quiet. The only other people out were members of the Watch, (Underwood and Linden tonight) who waved at Audrey and John before returning to their patrol. 

Percy pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. "I've got it from here if you both want to go home."

John shook his head, "I'm good. Audrey?"

"I have nothing else to do."

The shop was a mess. Audrey could tell there had not been any kind of business transactions here since the early days of the war. Septimus had cleared her and John out in August after they received their summons to the Ministry for allegedly stealing magic. She knew George had been in a terrible state since his brother died, but the dust and cobwebs confirmed Audrey's idea he had just given up on everything.

Audrey pitied him.

The men took George upstairs to sleep it off while Audrey looked around the shop. She had her fill of that fairly quickly and looked out the window to the burned out husk of her old home across the street. There were a lot of memories in the skeleton structure of that old building.

Audrey sighed as the smell of books and magic filled her senses. Long hours of translating old runic texts by a crackling fire, evenings spent talking with Septimus about old magic or life when he felt philosophical. They had a long talk about her future when she considered dropping out of Hogwarts to research magic full-time, Septimus told her she was to smart to follow the example of those doppelgangers across the street before hauling her off on a trip to Germany to meet with one of his contacts and prove his point.

Her hands ached at the memory of her dueling lessons before that trip. Septimus was a true master of magic, his depth of knowledge on the subject was almost unmatched, but he was fussy about structure, had his own complex theories and was prone to voicing all of his opinions.

Aligning with Septimus was not going to grant her major acclaim within research circles, they considered him a rabble-rouser, his ideas insane and improvable. Many of her papers would never see publication through the Research Society; they were traditionalist who disliked radical ideas, preferring more palatable topics. Being an independent scholar would be a dangerous career with minimal proper funding, but Audrey could not think of anything she would change about that part of her life. Septimus had her loyalty. Bonds of war had solidified what was already going to be a strong apprentice and mentor relationship. 

There were muffled noises coming from the stairs. John and Percy's muffled voices grew louder as they entered the shop.

"Thanks again for the help, John," Percy said quietly.

"Not a problem, if you need any help in the future you know where to find us." John replied as he went to the door with Audrey moving next to him. "The Leaky Cauldron or if we're not there go to the Sneezing Snitch and ask for Scully."

"Scully knows everybody in the alley," Audrey clarified at Percy's confused glance. "If Tom doesn't know where we are, Scully probably will."

"I'll keep that in mind." Percy grinned and Audrey noted the lines of exhaustion around his eyes. Even a tired grin took months of stress of his face.

Audrey nudged John, her face warming slightly, "I think it’s time we were heading back."

"You're right, Aud. Percy I'll see you tomorrow."

"You too, John. Tell Ellie I said hello." He reached out and shook John's hand and then reached out for Audrey's. "Audrey?"

"See you later," Audrey took his hand and shook it politely with a smile that was warmer then she intended, before reaching for the door and stepping out into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a filler chapter, but I like to explore how the war has affected different groups of people. I like to explore grief and see some of it through an outsider's prospective. The meetings at the Sneezing Snitch are a combination of political opinions, community gathering and maybe group counseling. Grief and trauma are prominent visitors through this tale. 
> 
> Now, any murder planned by a couple of ten-year-olds will have a lot of holes in it. Giant holes. We may fall into them.


	5. The Department of Mysteries

_June 17th 1998_

Audrey was an early riser. Mostly out of an inability to sleep over the past year. With everything she was doing, by rights, she should be in a deep, long sleep on a regular basis, but nightmares of battles long over haunted her mind. She blinked a few times, trying to chase away the images of a burned out house and what lay within as black robed figure hauled her away.

She climbed out of bed, quickly and quietly getting dressed for the day. She would change into her uniform when she got to the Ministry; she was not yet brave enough to just show up in her pajamas to take a morning shower.

Creeping silently past Lucia's bed where the sound of snoring could be heard from under the quilt, Audrey slipped into the hall. As she closed the door she heard the sound of hushed whispering coming from her right. Glancing over, Audrey found John Townsend having a lively one-sided conversation with his infant son.

"We're going to let mummy sleep in today. Why? Well Junior, it's time I was honest with you about your mum. She's insane. I love her, but she has violent reactions to being woken up by anybody but you. I found this out after we eloped, I'll spare you the details. All you need to know is that I learned my lesson." Junior smiled, "You're your mum's son all right."

Audrey giggled, the noise caught John's attention. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." She leaned against the wall. "Letting Ellie sleep in?"

"Yeah, she borrowed the kitchen last night to make some bread to sell. It'll be gone by lunch, mark my words."

"I have no doubts. Do they have the… little fillings in them?”

“Yep.”

Audrey exhaled and felt her mouth begin to water. She was going to have to talk to Ellie about trading goods for a service. Though, the only service Ellie would accept would be babysitting, and Audrey was uncomfortable with babies.

Ellie Townsend made fantastic bread and other baked goods. She had been a bit depressed without regular access to a kitchen since her shop and flat was burned down. She had finally talked Tom into letting her use the kitchen to bake things to sell for some money. Ellie had been doing that for three nights after the Leaky Cauldron closed.

Audrey left her post at the wall and proceeded downstairs waving to John over her shoulder as she passed a rather irate Celeste Cadwallader on her way down for breakfast. Cadwallader was muttering something about little brat children. Audrey's eyes followed her up the steps and realized in a violet housecoat and hair down, she seemed almost human. There were some shouts coming from dartboard near the steps. Audrey peered over the railings to find Cappie shaking hands with one of the regulars and then turning to face the board with a devious gleam in his eyes. Audrey leaned over for a better look and noticed the crowd gathering.

"Alright, three shots each boy, your target is that little red spot in the center."

"You've said that three times already Mr. Fowler, I think I've got it." The crowd chuckled as Cappie gave Mr. Fowler a warm smile. "How about you take the first shot? Me being new to this and all…"

"Alright then, watch carefully. You might learn something." Fowler fired three darts, one after another, into the board. Two hit the bull's-eye one missed by a couple of centimeters. "Your turn, Cappie."

Audrey watched Cappie closely as a bystander removed the darts. When he had cleared, Cappie prepared to fire. All three darts went into the bull's-eye. There was silence from the crowd for a moment as Cappie smiled, removed his hat, and swept the money that was on a nearby table into it and took off out the door. "Thanks!" he shouted as the door closed behind him.

"I think you just got hustled, Fowler."

"Shuddup."

Deciding it was too early to get involved with anything related to Cappie’s shenanigans; Audrey instead took the path of least resistance and made a run for the fireplace.

* * *

That week's schedule was hanging upside down on the wall. Audrey tilted her head slightly as she fixed the collar of her uniform and adjusted the strap of her bag where she kept her book of runes, along with some parchment and quills so she could practice and study. She found her name near the top with some effort and ran her finger across the paper to find her station. Dawson’s tendency to keep people on their toes by switching them out for other posts within his tiny empire could be aggravating at points. Audrey double-checked the paper before turning around to ask someone where the Department of Mysteries was. She found herself eye level with Henry Dawson's chin.

"Good morning Mr. Dawson!"

"Morning Miss Causey, how are you?"

"Fine."

His eyes were focused on the paper over Audrey's head. "I think there's something wrong with that assignment sheet."

"I think so too."

_"Walker!"_

There was the sound of footsteps running quickly into the room. "Yes, Mr. Dawson?"

"You hung the assignment sheet upside down last night." Dawson sighed as Walker's smile threatened to split his face in two. "Alright, who was she?"

"Who were _they_ , Henry? _They._ "

Dawson's eyes widened as Audrey raised an eyebrow. "Walker, do I want you to explain?"

Walker ignored him, "Twins. And not just any kind of twins. _Identical_ twins." His smile got bigger. Dawson cringed. "Imagine Miss Selwyn with smaller br-“

_“Walker!”_ Dawson went red in the face from either embarrassment or shocked rage.

Audrey adjusted the front of her uniform as she focused her gave intently on her boots as Walker continued, unhindered by Dawson’s opinions as he lost himself in memory. Most of the security department staff were women; Walker feared most of them, the rest tended to mother the younger staff. Walker was dumb, but harmless.

"I had an interesting evening that only became more so when we went back to my flat and-"

_"Walker!"_

"Okay, okay, I'm going to work now."

_Agrippa’s knickers. I gotta tell Lucia, she’ll love this!_

"Give me strength." Dawson sighed as he turned to Audrey with a tired look on his face as Walker ran out to the front desk. "I’ll talk to him later. Alright, I'm sending you to the D of M today. It seems right up your alley of interests.”

“Um, Mr. Dawson,” Audrey started quietly, speaking slowly; trying to make sure she got this right.

Dawson nodded, encouraging her to continue with a placid smile.

“Perhaps I could be stationed permanently in Floo Regulations?”

“Oh, you want me to defy our sacred traditions?”

_It’s not a tradition; you’re just crazy like the rest of this department._

“Well… I have an… interest in floo science.” Audrey smiled, it was too big to be convincing. She would have to work on that.

“Ah, anything else?”

Audrey felt her brain shut down for a moment.

Dawson was a nice man; nice men usually had no true grasp of conspiracy and evildoing. Nor was she positive about how much she should tell him about the rumors within Diagon Alley. His placid smile took a teasing edge while Audrey struggled to not sound like an idiot.

“Uh… Cute boys.”

_You’re an idiot._

“Cute boys,” Dawson repeated, struggling not to laugh. “Lucia says they’re all in Experimental Charms.”

“Well, different strokes…”

Dawson laughed heartily, a deep belly laugh that made him rest his hand on a nearby table to keep from falling over as he collected himself. His laughter slowed down as he reached up to wipe a tear from his eyes.

“You’re funny Aud, say hello to Oddball for me," He grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. It felt like he was peering into her soul. "Do _not_ let the Unspeakables talk you into experimentation, I lost three guards that way. Also if you have to go in there, be very, _very_ careful. There have been… Incidents." He patted her on the shoulder in a fatherly matter. "Have fun!"

_He’s trying to get rid of me. I think…_

Dawson then spun Audrey around and steered her out the door, giving her directions to the entrance before closing the office door behind her. Audrey looked back at the closed door for a moment before walking to the lift to go to her post. The lift was quiet and empty, peace at last. As she felt herself dropping down deeper under the streets of London the air grew steadily more chilled like she was climbing into an icebox. Audrey saw her own foggy breath in front of her face as the lift opened.

Torches floated in a perfect line on each wall. Audrey peered at them wearily as she cast a warming spell on her hands. The stone walls looked almost alive in the torchlight. She shivered and ran the rest of the way down the corridor. Audrey stopped when the desk came into view with something strange on top of it. It was a human figure sitting with his legs crossed on the desktop. Oddball was meditating.

Audrey thought that Oddball resembled a hippie with his scruffy facial hair and long ponytail. His uniform was well worn from his years in the Ministry Security. He said this one was lucky and refused to get a new one. It also, rumor had it, belonged to his father.

Oddball shifted on the desk and opened one eye sleepily. He gave Audrey a grin before resuming his meditation; he had taken a vow to not say anything until after the lunch hour for the next week. He never said why. Lucia had a theory that he was trying to preserve his voice for a singing audition. Audrey returned the grin and sat down in the chair on her half of the desk and reached for Oddball's copy of the Quibbler. Oddball was the guy who brought in the reading material every morning; he had the paper placed next to a sign on the coffee table next to the assignment sheet that said _'First come, first serve.'_

"So," Audrey started as she moved her bag to her lap and began to pull out its contents, "is it always this quiet down here?"

The silence was the only answer; followed by the steady _drip, drip_ of water from a leaky pipe.

"Should I take that as a yes?"

He nodded.

"Okay then." Audrey paused for a minute, "How long have working for security?"

Oddball held up a finger, then raised his other hand in a closed fist.

"Ten years?"

He nodded.

"How long have you been down here?"

Oddball held up both hands with all of his fingers extended.

"Five, no wait, ten years? You've been down here ten years? Merlin's trousers, that's horrible. I wouldn't make it sitting at the desk down here for ten years without researching something? How do you do it?"

He shrugged, smiled and stretched before resuming his meditation.

Audrey sighed and started to read Oddball's Quibbler.

She had a strange life.

Audrey was beginning to realize that it may be easier to stop questioning the strangeness of her life and just make her peace with it. Though having a nice, normal person in her life would be a welcome change, someone with a stable home life, uncomplicated personal history, very few to no emotional scars, easy to talk too…

She pushed the Quibbler aside and examined the heavy tome before her. One of Septimus's colleagues had sent it to him to give to Audrey to study at his request. They had lost their original copy in the fire that Audrey had been studying before the sacking of Diagon Alley. The pages in this book were yellowed and delicate with age. _Runes, Glyphs and Magic Circles_ was textbook about ancient magic and sealing methods.

_If powerful sorcerers wished to protect their treasures from their enemies, this was the main method to do so if their lands were vast and covered several miles. One warlock is needed to construct the circle, and then the three would stand in the designated circles and recite the charm. The purpose of a glyph is to mark a location as protected, it is rarely used due to needed cooperation of spirit and trust between at least three wizards._

Three was a powerful number, not quite as strong as seven, but a more common one to find. There were several stories of third daughters and third sons who were gifted wizards and witches.

She made another note that very few people could have that kind of innate trust and cooperation on a singular goal. What if the area was very large? Secluded? In a well populated location? It would be a hard spell to perform at any rate, even without those outside factors.

Audrey sucked on the end of her feather quill as she examined the next rune and read the description carefully. The rune of sealing was simple, a circle around a triangle with three short lines like thorns coming through the circle. The rune itself could only be used under specific conditions.

_Under the rules of old magic there are very few powers that can be sealed away with this rune. Poltergeists or malignant spirits under conditions listed in chapter three. Dark spirits like lethifolds, for a brief period of time to a purified object. Summoned beasts, covered in chapter seven (golems of all types). Lastly, and the most rare, is Dark Manifestations in physical form which will be discussed at length in the following section. While reading, please consider the methods used and the consequences of using this spell on Dark Manifestations. Also consider the ramifications of your life choices if you ever encounter any of these and need to use this particular spell._

Audrey took a deep breath and turned the page, wondering exactly what she would find in the next section.

_Dark Manifestations are unique for their rarity. There is no complete understanding for how they are formed but the most prevalent theory to date is this; Dark magic, when left alone to reside with a semblance spell for a period of at least seven years* will produce this result._

Audrey noted the smoky illustration that shifted violently between several different forms and made her eyes hurt just looking at it. The caption at the bottom of the page sent a chill up her spine.

* _Unable to verify_

She turned the page.

_These manifestations are dangerous and are considered a level five threat having the primitive instincts of a beast desiring only survival. It is not a thing that can be reasoned with, as according to our studies it has no true understanding of human speech or emotion. Or perhaps is has a far greater understanding of such matters, studies remain inconclusive. They are also petty and even when fully and properly sealed will alter small terms of the sealing contract. One must be very clear and firm when stating the conditions!_

_The rune is drawn in ink or chalk. Those were the materials available to previous casters._

_Sealing runes can also be used on an active horcrux (Please read_ A Greatest Evil _for an in-depth discussion on their creation and use)._

Audrey scribbled down the name of the book and this strange word in her tight, small scrawl.

What was a horcrux?

_But this is a temporary solution, and does not destroy the horcrux, it also has a high chance of killing the castor because the horcrux by its very nature is a malicious force. Sealing an active horcrux should be a last resort even for powerful sorcerers. It makes the sealer very vulnerable to the individual horcrux. At this time, those who study supposed dark magic do not fully understand how, why or the effects of this in full detail._

_This is a very rare form of magic._

_Several warlocks who attempted this magic alone in the past have all died from the spell alone. It can be concluded that the circumstances that allowed those who survived the casting are related to the number of participates to offer aid to the caster of remove the strain and pull away focus on a sole caster from whatever force is being sealed away. Some theorize that surviving the casting is tied into the reason for the casting or merely a force of will to survive._

Audrey could not imagine anyone willing to do any of these enchantments. She shivered and fidgeted in the seat nervously as she turned her attention to the stone wall to her left to collect her thoughts.

She thought back to when she was writing her thesis on blood magic. Most of her research on the topic talked about sacrifice and love, blood being symbolic of family ties and life itself. In a way these two topics were very similar.

Both being the last resort of desperate warlocks…

* * *

Two hours went by in complete silence, Oddball wouldn't speak until after lunch and Audrey was done talking to herself. She didn't need to hear her own voice in a one-sided conversation. The most interesting thing that had occurred was Piper Collins running into work late on high heels and leaping over the desk shouting loudly about her alarm clock not going off. Oddball broke his vow of silence with a scream of terror as she had snapped him out of his happy place.

After that little moment of excitement, Audrey put her head on the desk in preparation for a nap, using the quibbler as a pillow. Security was not allowed back into the department unless there was a disturbance or somebody from upstairs needed to see someone for document that was too valuable to be sent alone. She would love to go back there, and get her hands on some of those documents. The government had the resources to study just about anything related to magic. It made Audrey positively green with envy. Septimus ran a bookshop to fund his projects. That three hundred-galleon reward would go a very long way. Then she remembered the debt to the Leaky Cauldron and realized she was going to need more than that. Especially since the seizing of their vaults during the war, with the Ministry taking their sweet time restoring them, Septimus was pulling every favor at his disposal to keep a roof over the heads of the remaining members of his operation including Audrey, Lucia, Cappie and himself.

John and Ellie were living off of Ellie's savings from her bakery with a bit of help from their families. They did not want to leave the Diagon Alley, it was their home and the Leaky Cauldron had a large enough kitchen for Ellie to keep the family business running on a smaller scale while John watched the baby and studied for his exam while finishing his time at the ministry.

She was half asleep as the sound of that blasted lift voice came down from the end of the tunnel; maybe it was Lucia or Walker to tell them that it was time for lunch, seeing as the clock down here didn't work. Footsteps. Audrey groaned as she focused on the steady sounds. They sounded like a man's. It was probably Walker.

"Hey Walker, what do you need?" Audrey mumbled

"Who's Walker?"

Audrey opened her eyes to find Percy looking down at her with a quizzical expression. She sat up as quickly as she could, barely noticing the Quibbler stuck to her face with semi-dried drool. She peeled it off her increasingly reddening face as she looked over at Oddball who was watching the scene with interest. He scratched his head quizzically and shrugged from where he was sitting on the desk. Audrey looked at Percy and raised an eyebrow, trying to save her dignity. He imitated the gesture.

"He's another security guard. What do you want?"

"I would like to know why this man is sitting on his desk."

"He's meditating on the meaning of life." Audrey retorted with a wry grin.

Percy grinned before he resumed the solemn expression of an errand boy. "The Minister sent me to pick up the department status reports. It's too dangerous to send them up alone." Percy then took a piece of parchment out of the sleeve of his robes. "This should let me go and get what I need."

Audrey took the parchment from his hands and read it over while Oddball looked over her shoulder. "It looks to be in order, but we can't send you in there alone. It's regulation apparently."

"I understand."

"Hey Oddball, you want to-"

Oddball smiled, pointed at Audrey, and then pointed at the black door behind them.

Excellent!

Audrey held her wand firmly as she looked around the Department of Mysteries, it was dark, and possessed a slightly depressing atmosphere. She shivered as she watched the shadows dance on the walls. Moving her lighted wand to the map Oddball had given her, Audrey examined the layout of the floor and where the department head's office in the back of the facility in someplace called the Time Chamber. The size of the department caused Oddball mark a route through the facility. The main route consisted of a spinning room of some sort which they were standing in now, entering any one door should take them to a room where they could start walking through the facility.

The doors started to spin wildly they made Audrey dizzy to watch. She stepped backwards onto Percy's foot. The room finally stopped spinning and they walked through the door ahead of them. The room was strange; it was covered in plant life that seemed to move on its own accord. A vine crashed down in front of Audrey and twitched feebly. Audrey stepped back as it moved back into the garden.

"Where exactly are we?" She asked, "This is not on the map."

"I'm pretty sure we're still in the Department of Mysteries."

Audrey chuckled, and continued walking watching the plants wearily.

The air was warm and humid inside the large chamber. The ceiling was high above their heads, almost like a cathedral, the plants reached for the ceiling where there was a bright light floating that seemed to simulate sunlight. It was a nice set up they had in here for being miles underground.

"I wonder what they're studying down here. Do you think it's something we can use someday?" Audrey asked in an effort to start a conversation.

"No."

"Pessimist."

"I'm being reasonable."

"Reasonable? It doesn't sound like it."

"How long before anything down here is available to the public?"

Okay, he had a point. Audrey wasn't going to admit it though.

"Besides," Percy was examining a flower that was swaying back and forth that seemed to be examining the trespassers with an interest that was unusual for most plant species. "I do believe this is some kind of illegal cross breed of some sort."

Audrey walked over for a closer look. "Actually, that's a perfectly legal South American plant. It's used in a deadly poison, so I wouldn't get to close." The plant lurched forward as if it was trying to hit them. Percy pushed her behind him on a reflex; Audrey could feel the notches of his spine through his robes.

"How nice," Percy commented drily as he adjusted his glasses.

They continued walking down the marked path between the knee-high wooden fences that kept the less dangerous plants away. The path diverged up ahead and Audrey pulled out the map. According to the map they were to take the left path was the shorter way to get to the Time Chamber where the offices were, the right path was the longer way and would lead them through a section of extremely dangerous plants that were being studied for various reasons. When would Audrey get a chance to see those? But those papers needed to be picked up...

"Which way?"

"This way," Audrey pointed down the longer route where the dangerous plants were located and strode down the path. She could always turn back if things got messy.

The walk was perfectly silent aside from the rustling of leaves from the other side of the steadily rising fence. She stopped to examine a large hand like vine that was moving over the now six foot high fence. "Wow… I wonder what this is?"

The vine-hand twitched before it lurched forward, past Audrey and grabbed Percy who gave a shout of surprise as he tried to reach for his wand. Audrey shrieked and ran over, managing to grab Percy's foot before he was to high in the air. The vine-hand continued upwards, lifting Audrey into the air, it seemed to realize it had and extra passenger and started to shake her loose. Audrey hit the floor with a thud and a rather large shoe in her hand as Percy disappeared over the other side of the fence.

Audrey lay on the ground for a moment, staring at the spot where the giant plant had dragged Percy away.

"Well, this isn't good." She sat up, tossing the shoe over her shoulder as she rose to her feet. Walking back to the entrance to get Oddball to help her sounded like a good idea, but that may take to long for help to arrive.

_This will be the thing that gets me fired… The Minister’s errand boy getting eaten by a plant._

Audrey took her wand out of the holster around her leg and walked quietly towards the fence. She could not reach the top of the fence; a quick levitation charm on her boots fixed that problem. Audrey put a stop to the charm as she got high enough to peer over the fence. Grabbing the top of the fence to keep herself high enough to look over, ready to drop back down if there was anything unseemly. It was a mess of tangled plants and trees. Audrey thought they might need to find a good gardener.

She took one last look for trouble in the tangle of green hedges and vines ahead of her before placing her wand back in the holster to pull herself over the fence easily. As Audrey's feet touched the grass on the other side she felt something like a large hand grabbing her around her waist, hoisting her into the air and deeper into the underground jungle where no one could her screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a lot more weird stuff in the Department of Mysteries then we actually got to see. 
> 
> I like it when clearly intelligent people have a moment or several of legit dumb energy. Not Audrey's best day of social interactions. 
> 
> And at no point in her future will Percy trust her with a map.


	6. The Hall

_June 17th 1998_

_The swing creaked as it rocked back and forth. Back and forth… Audrey sat down on it and pushed it back as if she meant to swing like she did when she was a child. Everything that she could see in the distance was a soft grey color until something small appeared in front of her._

_"Why did he leave?" The figure spoke with the voice of a much younger Audrey, "Doesn't he love me? What did I do wrong?"_

_The little Audrey was clutching a teddy bear to her chest and looking at her older self sadly. Her long mousy brown hair was hanging in her eyes and her bright yellow sundress hung around her knees. Audrey recognized the dress from a picture she grandparents had taken over a decade ago._

_"I'm sorry daddy; I promise I'll be good!"_

_All of the color from the little Audrey vanished leaving her to disappear into the rising mist._

_"I'll be a good girl, really!"_

_And Audrey was left alone again. Digging her feet into the earth to push herself back to take off into the misty air. When something began to form in front of her again, Audrey skidded to a halt._

_The mist began to morph into something familiar. It was a grayish white figure that resembled a tall man. It was very familiar. The only coloration in the mist-man was the pale grey-blue eyes. The same ones that Audrey possessed. It looked at her angrily before turning his back to her and beginning to disappear slowly._

_"Don't leave dad!"_

* * *

"Oh, who do you think she is Thorn?"

"I think she's from… _Upstairs."_

"You don't say! I wonder what's going on up there?"

"Nothing as interesting as what we do down here, Leaf."

Audrey felt somebody leaning over her and opened her eyes quickly and sat up almost hitting the woman leaning over her in the nose as she fumbled for her wand. When she got a grip on the handle, she yanked it up and pointed it between the two people at her bedside. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Welcome to the Plant Chamber.” The woman said, her voice calm despite Audrey’s wand at her nose. “This is where Thorn and I study plants for medical and other top-secret purposes. My name is Leaf by the way. Well, that's more like my codename."

The man called Thorn gave Leaf a warning look as he looked Audrey over carefully. He was a rather average looking blond man with a hawkish nose. "This is our headquarters; we have samples from all over the world to study.” Thorn’s gaze hardened with suspicion. “Why are you here?"

Audrey shrunk away from Thorn, he was kind of a creepy looking fellow, but that was all the fear she would allow herself to show. She twirled her wand between her fingers. "I was taking a man to pick up the department reports when some plant grabbed him and dragged him over the fence."

"Oh, that plant is part of our studies…" Leaf said quietly.

"Her name is Bertha."

"Bertha?"

Thorn shifted his gaze around the one room of their headquarters. It was small with two other beds, a couch, cupboard, and a stove, also a desk and a small filing cabinet in the corner. These items were evidence of this place being a long-term study facility. Septimus had told her a few stories from his time as an apprentice researcher and how strange some of the researchers there had gotten after a couple of weeks of being hold up in a room like this. Audrey started to wonder how long Leaf and Thorn had been down here.

"Yes, Bertha is an imported plant with a bit of a wild streak. She likes bright things, like lit wands, fire, gingers-" Leaf's list was cut short when Audrey interrupted.

"Wait; is Bertha one of those living fireproof plants that were discovered near Pompeii?"

Audrey read about them in a paper a year ago. They had some degree of sentience and collecting tendencies. Audrey’s best comparison was mandrakes with kleptomania.

Leaf smiled, "Yes, one of the seeds anyway. We discovered a couple of months ago that she is highly attracted to bright colors when one of our security guards came in to take care of something wearing this rather gaudy feathery necklace. Well, Bertha snatched him up for it." Audrey's eyes widened, Percy had nice bright hair... "Oh, don't worry about it, Oddball recovered and learned not to come this way if he was wearing bright things. Or not to come this way at all actually, I miss his visits." Audrey felt her face pale as Thorn walked over to the room's only window.

No wonder they had lost three guards. Oddball did not want to come down this way again after running into a living plant. It was too weird even for him.

"I say, there's Bertha now." Thorn looked over at Audrey pensively. "I guess we don't have to call security to come and rescue the poor fellow since they're already here."

_No! Oh dear, God, no!_

Audrey leapt off the couch and peered out the window over Thorn's shoulder in terror, thoroughly convinced she was going to see her boss strolling through the surrounding trees. Convinced she would lose her job in the next ten minutes. Within the week she would be scrounging for food and coin to help support her family. She would _starve!_

Then she realized then that Thorn was referring to her and took a step back to compose herself.

She would not starve yet!

"Where's Bertha's lair then?"

"West of headquarters."

"Anything I need to know?" Audrey asked as she adjusted the collar of her uniform and tightened her holster strap.

Thorn smiled, "Don't let her grab you and you'll be just fine. And we'd appreciate it if Bertha was unharmed. Leaf will take you to the path we've marked out to Bertha's lair." His expression grew quite serious. “Don’t hurt the thing, we’re still studying her more medicinal properties.”

Leaf ran over to grasp Audrey's upper arm and drag her out the door and Thorn wiggled his fingers in a mocking kind of wave. Audrey blinked rapidly as she was exposed to the bright lights at the ceiling. It seemed brighter then it was earlier, perhaps it corresponded to the position of the sun, which would make it around noon now. Maybe if she hurried in her retrieval of one Percy Weasley she could still get some lunch. They were having vegetable soup today…

Audrey tapped her wand over her open palm to set off a few white sparks, she did it again to set off red sparks in case she needed help during the rescue attempt. Being held captive by a plant would be much worse then losing her job.

As a last resort, no telling what Bertha would do if she noticed a series of bright shiny sparks in her home of all places.

Audrey hoped Percy had dropped his wand somewhere; she did not want him complicating what could be a simple walk out of this plant emporium.

"Hey, Leaf, something grabbed me when I came over the fence, what was it? Was it Bertha?" Audrey asked as they stepped delicately over the roots of a large tree whose branches seemed to twist and turn without the need for a breeze.

Leaf looked at Audrey curiously, "Most likely, I found you while I was doing my rounds by the irrigation system. I didn't see anything, but some of the plants and trees here act in mysterious ways, so it actually could have been anything."

"How comforting."

Audrey was not paid enough for this. Being toyed with by a plant the way cats played with their food.

Though, this whole thing was kind of her fault.

The trekked on through the forest in silence, looking at the vines and those funny weeds that fluttered in a nonexistent breeze along the path. It was quiet, peaceful even. Except for that creepy flower bush, Audrey was convinced it had working eyes.

Leaf stopped for a moment, removed a flask hanging off her belt and held it out to Audrey. "Want some water before I point you to Bertha's?"

"Sure," Audrey took the flask noting that it was engrained with the symbol of the Department of Mysteries, and the Research Society. Audrey felt her eye give an involuntary twitch. The head of the Research Society was someone that neither Septimus nor Audrey liked. Cavan Toft was Septimus' former partner and used Septimus' discoveries to get rich and become the head of the organization. Leaving Septimus to fend for himself for funding, seeing as Toft refused to sign the papers that would loan money to fund the Septenary's projects out of the Research Society’s coffers.

Audrey removed the cork as Leaf tilted her head as she prepared to ask a question, "So, is this bloke Bertha snatched up your boyfriend?"

Audrey's eyes widened and the flask almost fell out of her hand. That was a disturbing thought. _"B-boyfriend?"_

Leaf seemed to miss the meaning of Audrey's befuddled expression.

"You know, potential breeding partner!"

Audrey promptly turned red and started choking as she handed the flask back to Leaf. "No… just no…"

"Oh, well, if he was I would have found that to be terribly romantic.”

Leaf had to get out of this study cage and talk to Lucia about tawdry romance novels. It would be good for her.

Leaf smiled serenely, seeming not to notice the awkwardness between them and pointed down a small dark, dirt path. “Bertha's place is just down this path here.” She then pointed away from the path. "Straight this way is the fastest route out of this sector. If you get placed here permanently I guess I'll see you around!" Leaf waved and took off back the way they had came, leaping agilely over roots and away from the vines that were now trying to grab her ankles.

Audrey whispered a little prayer she would not be placed down here. This was probably why Septimus tried to avoid most of the researchers gatherings. They were all so _weird._

Audrey turned to face the dark path to the lair of Bertha. The thought of lighting her wand came to mind to attract the beast, but remembering Bertha's likes and dislikes destroyed that idea. She didn't fancy the idea of being dragged of like some useless bureaucrat.

In the distance she heard a voice shouting something Audrey could not quite make out from where she was standing currently. She dove behind nearby tree, wand out and ready. She had a plan for Bertha. Oh yes, keep the plant alive and save her job. This might just work. She moved forward quietly stepping back onto the path. Audrey smiled slightly as she noticed one of the vines twitch next to the path. Bertha may have had an inkling that she had unwelcome company. Audrey kept walking.

"Is this some kind of retribution?"

The voice came from somewhere above Audrey's head. She looked up and found nothing but vines hanging off the branches. Audrey knew the voice; she just could not place where it was coming from.

Bertha reminded her of the Beast, a plant Septimus kept in the back room during her first year of employment. Audrey was convinced that it was, like many things in the back room, illegal. It was apparently responsible for Septimus' last apprentice/shopkeeper quitting a week into the job then burning his contract in the process. He had also, according to eyewitness accounts, run out screaming that the old man was insane. Septimus had never clarified why.

Vines suddenly shot out of the earth and wrapped themselves around Audrey's legs, wand arm and torso. Audrey yelled as she hit the ground and struggled to get away, keeping a tight grip on her wand. She slammed her free hand down on the vine at her waist; if Audrey remembered correctly, plants like Bertha did not like cold temperatures.

Audrey cleared her mind and focused. The temperature around her dropped so suddenly it was like being shoved into an icebox. A deep, bitter frost formed around Audrey’s hand, covering the plant a pushing its way into Bertha’s circulatory system. This was harder then it was on living people.

Bertha released her to take a strategic retreat. Audrey slammed another retreating vine with a withering jinx, pushing the plant further back into trees for the moment. Audrey got to hert feet and took few steps back, getting her bearings on her opponent.

Audrey's eyes darted from one tree to the next to each bit of movement on the ground. She winced at the recollection that Leaf and Thorn wanted the plant unharmed. It would probably be wiser just to grab the bloody bureaucrat and run.

 _"Vestigium!"_ A white light shot out of the end of Audrey's wand and rose into the air and up a nearby tree _. "Flagarate."_ A red X appeared on the trunk of the tree, "Alright then."

She backed away from the vine that shot out from behind a nearby tree and ducking behind a large rock. Audrey stunned the vine hand that was coming out of the earth before hitting it with a frostbite curse on reflex. Audrey gave a slight groan of disappointment. So much for not hurting it. The vine hand was frozen solid and covered in icicles; freezing spells had always been a specialty.

Audrey peered over the rock nervously, listening carefully for anything else that would be coming for her. Hearing nothing, Audrey walked over to the tree she had marked. She looked up into the branches tilting her head slightly.

"You okay up there?"

"What do you think?" Percy's voice answered from the treetop as he peered down at her. He was easily ten meters in the air.

Audrey smiled, "You sound fine to me."

"Your powers of deduction astound me."

"I could always leave you up there you know!" There were vines twitching on the ground nearby. Better hurry this up.

"You could throw me my wand and I could get myself down."

Audrey looked down and saw the wand sticking out of the knotted roots. She was not going to throw it ten meters in the air, that would be stupid. She was small and was terrible at throwing. Best tell him to jump and get it over with.

"I'm still kind of tempted to leave you there."

"You wouldn't."

Merlin's beard, that smirk was smug. Fine, he was a grown man; he could handle a ten meter trust fall. If he kicked up a fuss, she could knock him out of the tree with a spell.

No, that was something Septimus would do. Audrey would feel horrid if she did that. Levitation charm it was then…

* * *

"Are you going to give me the map back?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Miss Causey-"

"Audrey!"

"The fact you took us in completely the wrong direction leads me to the conclusion that you are not to be trusted with the map."

_And I levitated you out of a tree when I could have made it so much worse…_

Percy had the gall to complain about it, saying it would have been easier if she had just sent up his wand.

No one ever liked her rescues. Her modified, specially charmed muggle broomsticks were genius and all anyone ever called them was flying death traps. The ones she gave the rescued Muggle-borns to flee to the continent were the ones that worked, the brooms that did not take the charms tended to spark so were sent into the homes of suspected Death Eaters, the bristles soaked with John’s explosive potion called the Holy Hand Grenade.

Finding out where Umbridge lived was such a blessing.

Audrey snapped back to the present as they stepped into the Time Chamber.

Perhaps her curiosity had led to a rather avoidable situation, but really, she couldn't help herself. There was so much stuff down here that could quench that thirst for knowledge. Shame everything of interest was so well guarded. Why did the Ministry have to make things so difficult?

There was a kind of rushed hustle around the Time Chamber; Audrey looked closely at some of the workers who were busy with some enchantments of things that resembled small hourglasses. She had no clue what they were. Turning back around full circle Audrey caught up with Percy who was walking as quickly as a one-shoed man was able down the aisle of desks to a door at the other end. He knocked rapidly as he put the map in the pocket of his robes, a feminine voice responded from the other side. "Coming!"

Piper Collins answered with a chipper smile and a white lab robe covering her street clothes, her black and purple hair pulled back into a messy bun revealing every stud in her ears. Piper was more Audrey’s definition of a Ministry of Magic Researcher, very smart, a bit quirky and paid enough to live on even during an apprenticeship phase.

She stepped aside to let them into her office. "Hey you two, what are you doing down here? You missed lunch," she gave Percy a rather evil looking smile; "Your mum's going _kill_ you if she finds out, and I have some sincere doubts she'll buy the whole _'I was busy with work'_ excuse again."

Missed lunch? Audrey's stomach growled loudly.

"Nice to see you too Piper, and that was not an excuse, I really was busy." Percy sat down in one of the wooden chairs by the desk, "I'm looking for Mr. Sheridan, he's not at his desk and I have been sent down to pick up the department reports."

Audrey was paying no mind to the conversation taking place a couple of feet away. She was busy poking through the items that were sitting in Piper's office while trying to ignore that aching, gnawing hunger in her gut. It looked like stuff from all over the facility. Jars with eyes that seemed to be watching their every move, little magical hands sorting through papers on the desk and occasionally throwing papers into the trash, but the most fascinating thing here was a jar that continuously showed the life cycle of a little bird. Audrey watched it for a full fifteen minutes while Piper and Percy exchanged information.

"I'm telling you mate, my next few years of apprenticeship might just kill me. They're throwing more dangerous stuff in here twice weekly now and let me tell you, the last one almost destroyed the lute hanging over my door. My father and I made that before my first year," Audrey turned to listen to Piper's story. "It's my favorite instrument, there's just something so classy and old fashioned about it."

"Old fashioned would be the term I would use to describe it," Percy agreed wryly.

Piper rolled her eyes at his tone, "Lutes are our most important cultural instrument you know. It was at one point a very popular wizarding instrument through Egbert the Eight-Fingered. Whom you can thank for that catchy radio ditty you like to hum to bother Felix when we play cards."

"It throws him off so you can beat him."

Audrey grinned and admired the tusks sitting on the table next to the bird in the jar while they talked about when they were going to get together to play cards again.

"Well, I've probably taken up enough of your time." Piper walked over to her desk and turned on the wireless and the sound of classical music drifted through the cramped office. "Mr. Sheridan's down visiting the Head of the Hall of Prophecy. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him before he goes to check on the Plant Emporium, I have my doubts you want to see Bertha again."

"How could you-"

"Every hair on your head is out of place," Piper replied with a smile. "Besides, you've got dirt all over your clothes. Did you know you’re missing a shoe?" She looked around the office quickly as Percy made an annoyed noise. "Hey, I'll walk you two down to the Hall of Prophecy, how does that sound? I know a shortcut and I need to take a break anyway." Piper lead Percy and Audrey out the door.

She led them through a maze of doors and desks that made Audrey's head spin as she tried to commit the path to memory in case she ever needed to use it again. The final door took them to an empty room with an arch in the center. Something that sounded like a familiar voice seemed to come from the arch. Audrey stopped short and stared at it listening to the voices. She did not notice that Percy had stopped as well. Piper stopped and looked at the two for a moment before grabbing them by the sleeves and dragging them out of the room.

There were a series of twists and turns that Audrey could not keep track of as she was preoccupied with staring at some of the extreme oddities that kept flooding her field of vision, pulling her attention from one room to another. Piper finally opened a large metal door and escorted them inside with a grand somewhat mocking gesture.

"Welcome to the Hall of Prophecy, if you want to find Sheridan, go to the other end of the room and look for a door. It will take you to the office."

Percy thanked Piper as she closed the door behind her with an echoing clang that sent a chill of terror down Audrey's spine as she took in the room around her.

The Hall of Prophecy was aisle upon aisle of scattered orbs that supposedly contained prophecies that could change the world. If one believed such things, Audrey really put no stock in such things believing that one's own choices determined their own destinies. Though, then again, Audrey had never really thought too much about the concept of fate either.

They walked silently through the Hall looking wearily at the tall shelves; as if afraid they might topple over on top of them. Not a word was spoken but the unspoken agreement was they were to stay close. It was a place that was to foreboding to wander about alone. Finally reaching the end of the large room gave Audrey a sense of relief similar to being doused with ice water.

Percy pointed out a door to the far right wall marked with a small plaque, "I think that's it."

Audrey followed, her hand resting on the holster around her leg. She felt like she was being watched and it was an uncomfortable feeling. Over a month after Voldemort's fall and she was still paranoid. Damn war.

He knocked on the door rapidly as Audrey leaned back against the wall looking into the rows of aisles before her. So she could see if anything was watching, Audrey would rather see them first so she could at least get a good shot if they fired. She was getting as paranoid as Septimus now. Well, he often said he didn't survive wars and pureblood Machiavellian power struggles by being stupid. Audrey survived one war under his direction and was grateful for that bit of paranoid survival strategy. Though she wondered how those upper-class power struggles would have worked seeing as the purebloods could not quite kill each other as they needed to breed.

The door swung open and a young man opened the door gave them both surprised looks before ushering them inside. The front office was rather cozy looking with boxes of rolled up parchment all over. Percy's nose wrinkled in distain for the mess. Audrey would be willing to bet her paycheck that this man's entire home was what she would consider obnoxiously clean. Bloody neat freaks were multiplying.

"Sorry about the mess. My filing cabinet doesn't hold the temporary minor predictions made by local fortunetellers. All of them are from this last month apparently." The man knelt in front of one of the boxes where there was rolled up parchment was scattered around it. "Really, trying to sort this stuff is right next to impossible."

"I'm here to pick up the Department reports from Mr. Sheridan if he's around." Percy said suddenly causing Audrey to roll her eyes. Though she doubted anyone beyond the research circles understood the trials and tribulations of apprenticeship.

The man looked Percy up and down taking in his rather disheveled appearance, "Through that door there. Mr. Sheridan's only been here a few minutes."

"Thank you," he replied curtly as he knocked on the door and stepped inside as it flew open.

As the door closed Audrey knelt down next to the frazzled looking assistant to help him sort through the minor predictions. A few minutes later Audrey stopped sorting for a moment as she pulled a roll of parchment with her name on it. Audrey could hear the old woman's voice as she began to recite the words that had haunted some of Audrey's more senseless dreams for weeks. Shaking her head Audrey put the words out of her mind.

Prophecies meant _nothing_.

The apprentice leaned conspiratorially over to ask a question. "So, how long do you think that wand's been shoved up his-"

He never finished the question as the door to the office flew open and an elderly man walked out with a cane hovering and inch above the ground swinging back and forth in front of him. The man was blind. The apprentice moved papers out of the man's way quickly and shoved couple of boxes out of the way. The blind man was followed by Percy and a man Audrey presumed to be Mr. Sheridan.

"Got your papers?" Audrey asked as she placed the parchment in the box and stood. She was ready to leave this creepy place and see if the elves in the kitchen would consider giving her some leftovers.

"Yes, everything's in order. Thanks again Mr. Sheridan."

The man smiled, said a few asides to Percy and waved as they began their walk back to entrance in silence. Percy pulled the map out of his pocket and tried to find their way back out through a route that was far away from the plant emporium.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We saw real magical researchers in this chapter. Yay! While Audrey makes the wizarding equivalent of minimum wage in her own apprenticeship, she also gets room and board and a more social environment. 
> 
> Apprenticeships last for seven years, the old fashioned method is one teacher, one student. If there are more apprentices the teachers then a class of three can be formed. The Research Society under Cavan Toft is testing more modern methods of one student, multiple teachers. I have a lot of background notes like this.
> 
> And so this little adventure in the Department of Mysteries comes to an end.


	7. The Library

_June 18th 1998_

Serena Scoresby was girl with aspirations, with the wits and the will to accomplish them. She had survived the final months of the war after her mother's public execution by using her friends' unique skill sets as a survival strategy. Who would suspect a child of picking pockets and stealing from local vendors? Nobody unless the child were seen. The children were careful; one distracted the target while the other robbed him blind. Since all but Serena had gone back with their remaining parents, godparents or in Cappie's case found a roof over his head with a job to sustain it. Aside from the robbery gone wrong that gave him the roof to begin with. Stealing on one's own was considerably more difficult. Especially the supplies she needed for her assassination of her mother's murderer.

Untangling her long hair from her ponytail and running her fingers through her blonde locks, Serena hardly looked the part of Diagon Alley's resident pickpocket and local pest. She looked like almost any other normal ten-year-old girl, a bit skinny maybe, but there was a world-weary look in her eyes that made normal people re-evaluate their first impression. Serena would be the last to admit that she was having a difficult time on her own. She was a very proud girl.

There was a scuffling sound of somebody tripping over the cobblestone street that caught her attention. Serena looked up as she put her hair up again to find Cappie Garland picking himself up off the street. He shook his shaggy black hair out of his grey eyes as he rose to his feet with a wince. Serena didn't think too much of Cappie when her mother had brought him home after he got mouthy with a corrupt enforcer. Cappie had started to grow on her after a couple of months of misadventures and Quidditch verses Quadpot debate.

"Hey Rena!" Cappie was the only one who called her that. "Guess what I have."

"Food, water, a new hat."

"I wish! I have something better," he whipped his hat off his head with a smile and reached inside to pull out a small bag with a jingling sound. "I've had a heck of a time trying to find you. I won this in a darts match against some old bloke yesterday."

"You always were a good shot." Serena stepped lightly away from the wall, her feet not making a sound on the street beneath her as she walked towards Cappie. She took the small bag of money from her accomplice with a smile and peered inside. "This looks good, Cappie. Combined with my savings this out to get me everything I need."

"Serena," Cappie said softly as Serena looked at the small bag of money in her hands, hazel eyes gleaming with malice. Serena lifted her eyes from it to find her eyes even with Cappie's. She guessed he had grown since the start of the summer; she used to be taller than he was. "Are you sure this about this? I don't think it's to late to back out."

"Yes, I am sure."

* * *

**_The Ministry has wronged us._ **

_They committed heinous acts in the guise of justice. Corrupted courts sent hundreds to Azkaban and murdered others for dodging the corrupted courts and Snatchers. Our very government committed unjust murders and accusations over the supposed "Stealing of Magic"._

_You think things have changed, that laws against the Muggle-borns or Half-bloods have changed._

_No._

_We can still be denied jobs based on our blood status. We remain a prosecuted people and the government will do nothing to fix it. They do nothing but gain from our treatment as second-class citizens. So we must rise up together to fix this problem._

_The era of pureblood supremacy has ended. It is time to begin a new era of equality and to do it by any means possible._

**_M_ ** _uggle-borns **F** or **R** eformation is an organization focused solely on this ideal and its execution. We are open to all of those who have been wronged by the Ministry during the war. Our weekly meetings are held on Friday evenings at seven on the top floor of the Dragonfly Cafe in Diagon Alley._

_This week’s topic is Ministry officials who have a history of supporting pro-pureblood laws and how we can exercise our rights to remove them from power._

* * *

Audrey stared blankly at the picture below the brochure, the picture of a woman coming out of Azkaban. The woman’s face was hollowed and sunken leaning heavily on the shoulder of a man who seemed to be limping heavily his shoulders shaking, their eyes were darting nervously around the scene like those of a wild animal ready to run far away into the underbrush where they would not be found.

Audrey felt herself begin to shake in anger. These people really made a point. The Ministry had wronged so many people, and hurt many more. Possibly permanently, Audrey would love to get her hands on those Ministry employees from the Battle of Hogwarts, imperioused or not.

The pamphlet made a satisfying crunching sound as her hands tightened into fists. She would love to slip her fingers around Umbridge's fat throat. Her croaking sounded far better than the life sentence she would most likely receive from going to trial. Audrey really wanted to get a date for that trial and see if she and her friends could take the day off to watch, or if she and Lucia could get security posting in the courtrooms to take part in the riot that would follow if Umbridge was released.

Celeste Cadwallader looked around the main room of the Leaky Cauldron as the sound of the crumpling paper. Audrey inconspicuously kept her hands in her lap, hiding the evidence like a guilty child as Cadwallader lost interest and went back to her breakfast. She unfolded the paper enough to double-check the time and location of the meeting again before slipping the pamphlet into her pocket. Audrey would think about it.

The participants in the Muggle-born Relocation Operation were still waiting for the date of the hearing that would have them formally cleared of all of their charges from the war. Audrey was going to wager a guess that major perpetrators of the attempted Muggle-born genocide were going to be relocated from the Ministry to Azkaban first, so it could be years before the seven, living and dead, were all cleared officially of their war crimes.

Long live the bureaucratic process.

At least if those charges never got cleared, Audrey already had a short way into the criminal underbelly to begin her life of legitimate crime. As a crime boss. It was a good back up plan.

She had a lot of practice in underhanded tactics and war craft, learning combat spells at Septimus’ knee would make a fighter out of any small magical animal.

_Nolan was much better then you Aud, and he still died under the rubble of a burning house…_

He saved her life, shoving her out the door and into the duel with the Death Eaters. Audrey barely made it out. Nolan Odell gave his life to give her a chance at living.

Audrey was unsure if he had made the right decision.

She would pour out a shot in Nolan’s memory tonight, two more for the Garlands. Maybe one more for the girl she was before the war.

* * *

Audrey pulled her street clothes over her head in the security locker room's shower. The water here was warm and if she came to work early she could get a quick shower. Her tax galleons at work. She drew the curtain behind her as she stepped inside and turned on the water. Lucia liked to take long hot showers that set off the fire prevention charm when she was finished, leaving for the next person, who was usually Audrey, very little warm water.

Ten minutes later Audrey was putting on her work uniform and tightening her holster around her leg. It was only seven thirty; nobody would be here until five after eight. Until then, the opportunity to explore was very enticing. Audrey smiled and walked out the door of the locker room and up the stairs and through the short corridor that would take her to the other corridor that led to the Atrium.

Stepping out into the dully-lit room with the melted statue in the center, Audrey smiled grimly at the recollections that statue's melted state brought her. She circled the fountain slowly and looked at the spurts of water sprouting out of it in strange places on the abstract construction and chuckled. She and Septimus were a good team.

Turning her eyes towards the lifts at the other end of the Atrium, one of those lifts was a one-way trip to the library and achieves. Audrey wondered if anybody was down there to open the place for a look around. She had not been down there yet.

Audrey stepped into the one-way lift and was almost thrown off her feet as it moved quickly through its route. She fell into the grate as it stopped as suddenly as it started. When the grates opened Audrey lost her balance completely and fell to the floor using her elbows to stop herself before her face became acquainted with the scratchy carpeted floor. She heard the lift was a bit jerky on the way down, she was not able to comprehend it being this bad. After pulling herself to her feet Audrey managed to walk into the library on still shaking legs.

Like many of the other libraries Audrey had found herself in it was very quiet. Unlike most other libraries the few librarians that could be seen were armed. Wands in holsters like those used by the security guards and the Aurors. The librarians' robes looked different from the Aurors uniforms and just as sturdy, like they were met to soften blows of some sort. That made no sense, as this was a government library, in Audrey's mind a place of peace, tranquility and law books.

There were three librarians standing by the shelves of law books. One seemed to be giving orders to the other two; it was an old woman whose black librarian's robes were lined with white and a matching white belt around her waist. She pointed towards the back of the library and fixed her silver hair in a bun at the nape of her neck distractedly.

Audrey moved closer to look at the new arrivals. There was a book by Bellamy Blake that had caught her attention. She picked it up to read the inside cover as her attention was drawn to the discussion a few feet away.

"Madam, are you sure this is a good idea?" The man whose robes were lined in blue asked as he fixed his collar nervously.

The old woman smiled mischievously, "The spells on the books we saved from the former administration need to be removed. I really think we did the job too well if we're having this much trouble. I don't even remember putting some of those spells on them actually, but that's the trouble with getting old I guess." This earned a chuckle from the librarians. "Alright, follow me then."

As they began to walk toward he stairs that would take them to the deeper levels of the library one librarian stopped short. "Are you sure it's wise to leave the new guy alone at the counter? I mean, Madam, won't he need the experience in the lower levels?"

The old woman smiled, "I had him down last week for training. He's still recovering from the book that tried to rip his nose off."

Audrey made a high-pitched squeak of fright. It was the Septenary's back room all over again. She put the book back on the shelf, turned slightly on her heel and walked quickly and softly through the tall shelves of books. Picking her way through the history, biology, and reference books. Just passed the law section she found a solitary figure at the table looking through books he was summoning off the shelf in the botany section. It took a moment for Audrey to recognize Percy Weasley. Upon closer examination, Percy still looked a bit frazzled, hair slightly askew from clutching it as he read his book. Audrey covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her laughter.

Percy stopped flipping through the books and looked at the bookshelf that Audrey had just ducked behind as she attempted to slip back up to the main floor. She moved quietly through the law section ignoring the young up and comers who were reading about the history of the law and the Ministry.

Soon, Audrey took a turn that led her to an area that she had never been in. Looking around she guessed she had taken a wrong turn somewhere. Perhaps in the section relating to history was where she made her mistake. This area had no one in sight. Audrey turned to try and work her way through the maze of shelves and information. She didn't get too far before she heard a voice that from the other side of the shelf. Audrey slowly removed a book from the shelf and peered through to the other side.

Sergius Sloan and a young woman were talking and browsing through the shelves. The woman had a sharp attractive face and wavy black hair pulled back in a tight bun beneath the rim of her hat. The way the woman carried herself confidently and with a bit of arrogance, seemed very familiar if one wanted to make comparisons to Lucia. She looked only a few years older than she did.

Audrey suddenly felt very self-conscious about how thin and haggard she appeared, running her hands down her sides and feeling every one of her ribs and the bones of her hips. The shadows under her eyes from a lack of sleep were the first thing she saw in the mirror in the morning. Running around in the woods practicing guerilla warfare had not been good for her health.

Sergius Sloan’s eyes were darting around the aisle as the woman leaned coolly against a table with her long legs crossed in front of her at the ankles, giving her the appearance of casual grace. "How are things Mr. Sloan? Going well I hope."

Upon closer inspection, Sloan was a ragged, weather beaten looking man with narrow eyes, his whole demeanor made Audrey nervous, which may have been part of the reason he ended up on her watch list. "You could say that."

The woman gave an imitation of a pout. "You're not particularly chatty are you? Never straying from the answer to the question," her face changed to one of indifference, as her voice dropped to a mere whisper. Audrey strained to hear what was being said, her face pressing against the grain of the bookshelf. "Have you thought about my offer?"

"Yes, and I believe your goals are ones I can sympathize with. Whatever you need, I will assist you."

Goals? Was this political or something more insidious?

What could be more vile and dangerous then politics?

The woman smiled as she stood and straightened her long black robes. Her robes seemed to be made of a sturdy material and lined in silk. A woman clearly in possession of more wealth and status then Audrey would ever earn in her lifetime.

"Thank you very much Mr. Sloan. I'll be in touch soon." The woman turned and walked away leaving Sloan to his own devices. Audrey watched the woman walk into another section before turning her eyes back to Sloan who had gone back to browsing through the books.

She shivered as she placed the book in her hand back on the shelf. What was the offer? Who was the woman? What were her goals? What in the hell was going on? This sounded too much like one of Septimus' black market deals for Audrey to be comfortable.

Audrey took a deep breath and started to walk off after the woman, she was planning something and it sounded big and important. She reached the end of the shelves and turned in the direction she thought she saw the woman go, only to bump into another person coming out of the neighboring aisle.

“Oof!” An arm moved out to grasp her own to keep her steady as she almost fell over.

“Steady there, girl.”

Audrey froze as Sergius Sloan released his grip on her arm. He was looking closely at her face as though committing it to memory or trying to remember where he had seen her before.

“You’re a shop assistant from Diagon Alley right?”

_Sure, let’s go with that._

Audrey raised an eyebrow.

“I was looking for a book and you were working the counter about… two years ago. You have very striking eyes.”

_Good memory._

Audrey nodded. “I would have just started there.”

“What brings you to the Ministry?”

Audrey shrugged, “Lost the shop in the riot, got bills to pay and all that.”

Sloan nodded, “Understandable.” He shifted his gaze to look directly into her eyes.

Audrey broke contact quickly to check the clock on the wall. “I’d love to stay and talk but I need to go report for my shift. It was nice to meet you.”

Sloan nodded and wished her a good day before Audrey turned to walk back towards the library entrance, feeling Sloan’s eyes piercing through her back.

A voice coming from behind her stopped her.

"Good morning Miss Causey."

Audrey winced as she felt her stomach drop into her feet. _Great!_

“Or Audrey as you so insisted.”

She had lost her chance to follow the woman and Sloan knew her name now. Merlin's saggy left-!

She forced a smile as she turned to face Percy, nothing she could do right down about any of that. "Hello, Percy." Her forced smile became a truly wicked grin, putting all thoughts of the woman and Sloan in the back of her mind in order to mess with a slightly annoying man. "Did you ever get your shoe back? Or _a_ shoe?"

Percy's slight grin changed to an embarrassed scowl as his ears turned a bright red. "No."

Audrey thought the look on the man's face was priceless. The only people who commented on his lack of shoe were Piper and Oddball. No one else seemed to find it important enough to comment on before Audrey resumed her posting.

Audrey glanced around; Sloan was flipping through some books in a section of combat magic close enough to listen, but far enough away to not be suspicious.

_He thinks like I do… That does not bode well at all._

"So, what are you looking for?" Audrey asked turning her full attention to Percy, noticing that his hands were empty of what reading material he had been looking at earlier.

"Information on that plant."

"Oh," Audrey chuckled nervously; she was willing to take full blame for that incident. "I'm really sorry about that." Being snatched up by a lifelike plant would be somewhat traumatizing for anybody.

"It's okay, not the worst thing that’s ever happened to me."

What?

She looked away as her checks went pink. "I need to go check the assignment sheet upstairs."

"I need to go to work." As he said this he began walking towards the lift with Audrey following closely. He held the door to the lift open for Audrey and let her get on first before following a step behind.

As the lift doors closes, Audrey noticed Percy fixing his tie. "It's still crooked mate." He continued to try and fix it. Audrey smiled, "You've got a crooked eye. Let me fix it." Audrey reached up and started to fix his tie. She really had no idea why that came out of her mouth. Let alone why she was fixing his tie. It was awkward, they didn't say anything. As Audrey released the tie she brought her eyes down to the tips of her boots and muttered, "It was annoying me."

"Thank you."

"Not a problem, my grandfather always had crooked ties too."

As the grates opened in the Atrium, Audrey walked out quickly as the lift began to fill with tired looking people. "See you later!"

Well, that was forward. Audrey's face grew red and she hoped for an empty desk in an untouched corner of the ministry.

Also for time to eat lunch in her little closet on the third floor. She needed to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the last breather chapters of the fic. While still a bit slow, we've met the major players and now we can begin a steady climb to the final chapter. 
> 
> I'm still working during the quarantine until further notice. Stay safe everyone.


	8. Final Warnings

_June 19th 1998_

Harold Silvern was silver-tongued. His voice rang with a kind of transfixing passion about his stance on the political matters that so consumed the world. Audrey leaned against the wall in the back of the room listening to him rant and rave, bringing the attendees to their feet in loud cheers of elation. The man that Audrey had dubbed Silvertongue, in her own mind, was a man in his mid-forties with an almost poetic way with words.

Harold Silvern's voice rang through the room to stunned crowd about a new era of equality for those repressed classes. For those who were cheated and all of those who continued to be. This was what those who were murdered would have wanted. To bring down the system that favored the purebloods. The crowd stood and cheered at this point. Audrey shivered and wondered why she had come to this meeting of the MFR.

Because they sounded so promising.

Silvertongue continued his speech to jubilant cries of _"YES!"_

Lucia and Septimus were purebloods, blood-traitors if one was going for accuracy, but Audrey had doubts that Silvertongue would take those who had broken with the upper class into account into the new order. Let alone those who had broken with pureblood ideals years ago.

"Full of himself, isn't he Audrey?"

Audrey turned to her left to find Russell Bennett looking at the scene before him with interest. Russell was an honest, straightforward, and uncomplicated man. Audrey thought him mad on occasion with all of his mental ideas. From a Diagon Watch to protesting the Daily Prophet, Russell was full of bright ideas depending on one's perspective. Though, surprisingly, many of his ideas worked. Somehow.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were a three-fourths blood or something," Audrey joked.

Russell smiled, "Both of my parents are half-bloods, and I wouldn't be here unless our esteemed speaker felt the need for a dessert bar." Audrey laughed drawing the attention of a couple of people in front of her. She blushed and got quiet. "Hey, this is dull. Want to go somewhere?"

Audrey nodded and followed Russell out the door and down the stairs and through the shop and into the empty streets. The only person was a local man who lived on the street by choice after the war, who was willing to divulge information for a bit of money. Audrey suspected him of having connections to the criminal underworld and being on the trail of something that was at least important to him. Though as to what, Audrey was not sure. He waved at his frequent visitors who waved back and continued to talk.

"I've got a patrol shift with Lucia tonight. We're meeting in front of the Leaky Cauldron in a few minutes."

"I'll walk you over." Audrey gave Russell a confused look. "I don't like the idea of you walking around alone. Especially with Silvern in there singing his tune."

"He's a terrible person." Audrey's voice dropped, as she looked around for anyone who could overhear her. Russell leaned down toward her so he could hear her better. "Did you hear him talk about eradication? Grated, he didn't mention genocide, but it was just so…" She paused and grappled furiously for the right thing to say. "I don't think we need to sink to _their_ level to prove our point and that's Silvern’s whole idea. I can't do the things done to me by my oppressors to try and improve my lot in life in the short-term. He's no better then a Death Eater!"

Russell slowed his walk a minute to let Audrey catch her breath, she was still so tired from her time on the run many days all she could do when she came back from the Ministry was try to sleep and even that was fretful. Working a patrol shift took actual effort, but it helped a bit with her sleeping issue.

"You need to rest, take a day off and stop making the rest of us look bad."

Audrey laughed and nudged him with her elbow, "Maybe you should work a little harder."

"I like my life as it is thank you. Complete with the lazy morning lie-in on Wednesdays."

He winked at her playfully and his expression grew solemn.

"I really think you need to take a step back from this. It's not good for you."

Audrey's jaw clenched as her eyes widened in rage, _"I'm fine!"_

Russell shook his head; "I don't mean the community stuff, that seems to make you happy. I meant dwelling on the bad stuff that happened to you. It's not healthy to think about it all the time the way you do. It shouldn't be the final factor in every choice you make in your life!"

They had reached the Leaky Cauldron and had stopped in front of the door. Audrey was waiting for Russell to say something that would either prove his point or give her an opening to tell him he had no right to interfere with her private business. His silence annoyed her.

"And why is that, Russell? I've spent the last year in constant fear for my life and the lives of my friends! I need to protect them and the fear doesn’t go away if there are still things to be afraid of!"

Russell's voice had grown softer, "Audrey, the war is over. It might not be over in your head, but it is over and things are getting better. You need to stop dwelling on it or it will never end for you."

Her hands were shaking with rage as Russell wished her goodnight and squeezed her shoulder affectionately before turning and walking into the night.

Audrey entered the Leaky Cauldron and slammed the door shut behind her before storming up the stairs. Russell didn't understand. He may never understand, and Audrey was not sure she could make him do so.

* * *

"Why did you volunteer us to substitute for the Friday patrol? This sucks."

"I know Lucia, you've mentioned that eight times in four hours and I'm sick of hearing it."

"Can't we just call it quits for the evening? Cadwallader won't know if we slip off or not, besides if I wanted to have my chest ogled at I would've married that git like my parents wanted me to." Lucia slapped a very drunken man who was trying to the best of his ability to look down her robes.

"Hey, you took control of the situation and left. You said your parents were going to use you to raise their own standing remember?"

Lucia stopped, her long blonde hair hiding her face from Audrey's view. "I just realized it's almost been a whole year since I ran away." Her hands moved to clutch at her shoulders to hug herself as her voice cracked slightly. "I-I'm so _proud_ of what I did. I probably shouldn't be as much as I am, they're still my parents. I spent my life trying to make them happy, trying to _earn_ their love and affection, but they always wanted the boy they could never have.” Lucia laughed darkly at the admission. “I'm a girl; I couldn't inherit unless I get married to a suitable man. My dowry, you know."

Audrey bit her lower lip. Seriousness from Lucia was unexpected; she had so rarely spoken of her family at school, only mentioning she had left an arranged fiancé at the wedding alter to join the fight. It must be hard to leave a life of luxury and status to roll about in the mud of actively fighting in a war that she could have turned away from. To live with her eyes closed to horrors that they had seen. Lucia chose to put herself at risk by standing by her friends, put a target on her own back all for what she believed to be the right thing.

Audrey’s heart swelled with affection. She would never find a better, braver, kinder friend then Lucia Selwyn. If anyone deserved the best of the world it was this beacon of light, laughter and love that stood in front of her eyes.

"I never knew my parents.” If Lucia was going to be open, Audrey owed her the same courtesy. “My father left when I was a little, and my mother died so my father’s parents raised me." Audrey's eyes stung.

Lucia tucked her hair behind her ears and looked at Audrey curiously. "You never mentioned your father left, and I've not heard a thing about your mother. Does your father know you're a witch?"

Audrey snorted, "How would he? He never spoke to any of us after he left. And even if he did, the shock that he sired such an abomination might just kill him." Audrey had one early memory of her father, and one more recent encounter both of which felt to personal to share. It stung to deeply.

"I don't think you're an abomination."

"Yes, well, the whole magic thing is quite normal for you and I isn't it?"

Lucia laughed, "Okay, you have made a point. People are scared of what's different from their own norm." Her manner became solemn again, "If you met your father, would you tell him?"

"No. He's never been a part of my life and unless circumstances called for it I would keep my mouth shut. Besides, I have a life here,” Audrey spread her arms out the sky, indicating Diagon Alley as a whole before settling back down, “there's nothing to keep me in the Muggle world. And also, despite common beliefs among society, I believe there's a difference between a _father_ and a _dad_."

Audrey paused for a moment and Lucia leaned towards her looking interested in her philosophizing.

"A dad teaches you and picks you up when you fall, supports you no matter what, and loves you despite your flaws and mistakes. A father is just there without the emotional support for his child, or just isn't there at all. I define being a mother and a mum the same way."

"I like those definitions, and I don't know why," Lucia smiled, "So, do you see my Uncle Septimus as a dad to you then? Because if you do then I can start referring to you as my cousin and see how my father likes being related to a Muggle-born." Lucia's smile widened, "And someday when you get married, would you ask Uncle Septimus to walk you down the aisle and give you away? Maybe he’ll comb his hair? I'd want a picture of that, what about you Aud?"

Audrey looked at the night sky pensively for a moment, "Depends on if he says yes or not."

"Yeah Aud, dear old dad's really going to say no."

“It’s a moot point really, most magical researchers don’t get married.”

“True, and we did promise each other to be spinsters together.” Lucia looped her arm through Audrey’s and pulled her down the street to continue their patrol. “We are a delightful pair of screw-ups, aren’t we?”

* * *

The Diagon Watch was in full strop to find Serena Scoresby, but Serena had the two great fortunes of being small and cunning, able to lose her pursuers through twisting alleyways that were to big for most adults. Finding Serena was a combination of charitable act and business preservation, and all reports on the girl were to be given to Celeste Cadwallader who was trying to arrange housing for the girl upon finally catching her.

Audrey had managed to track Serena one time to a location in the old part of Knockturn Alley, only accessible through tightly turning small alleyways that may have been her primary residence, but Serena was not there and getting back there as one adult was a considerable struggle. It could have been anyone making a home in a tattered old building in Knockturn Alley. Audrey had an inkling that Serena was far to street smart to have only one hideout and perhaps may have found the network of twisting tunnels beneath the two great alleys considering how quickly Audrey had lost sight of her.

Lucia and Audrey stopped in front of Leaky Cauldron as the sound of polka music could be heard from under the door. Audrey once more cursed Tom's love of polka and glared at the door.

Lucia reached slowly for the door handle, seeming to be bracing herself for impact. "I want to go to bed but I wonder if that soft bed is worth walking through polka night?"

"I hope it is, this is the second polka night this week. I'm going to go see if I can grab Septimus out of the Sneezing Snitch before Tom locks up. I'll see you in the morning."

"Please, don't wake me up this time." Lucia opened the door with a wince and walked quickly inside as the sound of the music came through the door.

Audrey smiled, and turned to walk back to the Sneezing Snitch. This was part of her nightly routine. To say Septimus Lowell was fond of alcohol was an understatement; Audrey spent her evenings making sure he made it upstairs from the Leaky Cauldron or from one of the local pubs to the Leaky Cauldron in one piece. She didn't mind, she enjoyed the walk aside from Septimus being drunk. She didn't like the idea of the older man walking home hardly in a state to defend himself.

The night was cool and Audrey pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. Her teeth started chattering as her fingers fumbled with the edges of her cloak that were escaping her grasp as the wind suddenly picked up speed. The mist was rising around her ankles as Audrey continued to walk thinking that it was far too cool for summer weather. The mist rose and thickened to the point where she was unable to see the lights from the shop windows nearby. Audrey kept walking for she felt as though something was pulling her towards something… Something important.

A reminder of sorts…

She felt her mind going blank as she continued to walk; there was no need to think about what was going on right now. Just to keep walking.

Because nothing was wrong.

Nothing at all.

There was a woman coming through the fog. She was an older lady with her gray hair pulled away from her face in a loose bun she was sitting in front of the remains of the Apothecary. Audrey stopped in front of the woman. The woman took a raspy breath before tapping her staff on the ground where a table appeared as sudden as the woman in front of her.

“Hello, dearie.” Her smile was eerie, like she was moving closer and further away by turns.

Audrey just smiled politely, her brain was working but not pulling up anything useful.

"Do you remember? Do you remember my warning?"

Some force beyond Audrey’s comprehension seemed to glue her to the street.

" _You will either live or die in the months to come, face a betrayal, face the traitor in a place you despise… To accomplish this you must lose what you hold dear."_ The woman smiled, "I told this to you almost a month ago and still no progress. You don't know who the traitor is, and you fail to be concerned. With the end of the era heavy in the mind of the world I thought you would be more concerned then you are."

"I thought a new era's already started ma'am. With Voldemort dead and all that."

The woman recoiled either at the sound of his name or Audrey's uncalled for sarcasm. "Don't use that name! I don't care how dead he is! _Don't. Use. That. Name."_ Her fist slammed on the table wit each word; her cloudy eyes were wild as she stared into nothing.

Shivers traveled up Audrey's spine at the harshness of her voice.

"I gave you a warning, and I've warned you again, I won't give you a third."

Audrey began to back away slowly.

"Remind your friend, Lucia, isn't it?" She smiled, and Audrey began backing away at a much faster pace. "To heed the warnings of a withered old hag like me, for she will never see herself as old as I."

Audrey felt her throat tighten, Lucia was going to _die!_ The charming, cheeky, overconfident Lucia Selwyn was going to _die?_ Lies! All lies! Audrey never believed in prophecies or predictions, she believed in foraging one's own path through life. Nothing was predetermined!

Audrey began to run as the woman began to laugh and disappear into the fog that she had appeared in.

Audrey never stopped running until she reached the Sneezing Snitch and ran inside, her sides cramping painfully. She bent over breathing heavily as she clutched her sides.

_'Liar, liar… There is no traitor… Nobody's going to betray me… Lucia is not going to die! Not if I can help it!'_

"Hey Aud, you want a drink?" Scully asked as he leaned over the counter for a better look. Ignoring his father's portrait shouting about his wine collection dwindling to nothing.

"Bah, don't give 'er not'ing. Audrey Causey can't 'old 'er liquor, we all know t'at." Laughter echoed through the pub as George Weasley spun on his barstool and promptly fell off. The men sitting next to him high fived over his semi-conscious body before going back to what Audrey believed to be a drinking contest.

"Well Georgie, at this point I think that Audrey can hold her booze better then you," Septimus said as he nudged George with his cane. "Bloody hell, I think he's asleep." Septimus tapped the side of George's face that wasn't getting acquainted with the floor. "Yeah, he's asleep." He turned towards the door, moving his cane away from the forming puddle of drool disgustedly.

Audrey tried to move away from the door as another figure came into the pub. She was not quick enough, leaving Audrey to find herself squished behind the opened door as the figure hurried inside.

"Hey, you're that bureaucrat who lectured me on proper codes last night." Scully glared at the tall redheaded man who was glancing around the pub worriedly. "You're not welcome here if you're gonna lecture me again."

"I am not here to lecture you about noise regulations and new curfew restrictions," Audrey chuckled at that. Percy's voice lost some of its haughty demeanor, "I'm looking for-"

Scully pointed at the sleeping form on the floor.

"Oh, yes, thank you." Percy knelt down next to the sleeping form and shook his shoulder gently. "George?" There was a loud snore from the body on the floor. "Come on, it's time to go home." He shook George's shoulder harder. "Wake up."

This was a scene the residents and frequent pub patrons were familiar with, but still felt the need to watch from the corner of their eyes. Curiosity and pity were the most common factors. George was a very blunt, unbalanced, mean, and occasionally violent drunk. Most of it aimed at the brother who came to drag him from the pubs. There was a lot of sympathy for the poor man, the barkeeps would point him in the right direction and not give him much of a problem. Scully would try and get Percy to see if he could pitch the idea of a legal day to throw rotten fruit at government officials on Thursday and proceed to get him to talk about politics.

Septimus tapped on Audrey's leg with his cane to get her attention as he walked over to the door. "I can't watch this. Besides, I think Tom's about to close up." Audrey nodded as she stepped out from behind the door. She ducked under Septimus' arm has he held the door open for her and strolled back out into the empty street.

They walked in silence, the sounds of the Sneezing Snitch disappearing behind them. Audrey hunched over as the wind started to blow. They were halfway to the Leaky Cauldron when Septimus broke the silence.

"You're being awfully quiet. What's on your mind?"

Audrey shrugged, "It's all of this I guess," she motioned to the destroyed and ruined buildings nearby. She did not want to talk about old women and their creepy, ominous warnings. "We're not going to recover from this in a hurry. It's going to take a really long time. And that makes me sad."

"As it should," he put a hand on Audrey's shoulder as they stopped for a moment. "Do you really have to make sure I don't kill myself on the way back to the Leaky, I don't like any of you lot walking after dark alone."

Audrey scowled, "Would I be here if I couldn't take care of myself?"

"No, you'd be six feet under."

Audrey chuckled at that.

"I have complete trust that you and everyone else can take care of themselves just fine. I just want to make sure none of you do anything to stupid. Let me tell you, that keeps me on my toes." Septimus sighed as they started walking again. "Troublemakers, all of you. Don't know why I bother."

"Hey, we don't need to be watched and babysat! Lucia and I are adults remember?"

"Yes, I do know that. But you and Lucia spent your first year out of school being chased by the Ministry. Granted that I got both of you involved, but you were going to be a target anyway. Lucia chose that time to break it off with her parents and needed to disappear, that was a bonus for me, seeing as I had no idea that I had a niece who wanted to follow in my footsteps. Banishment from a pureblood family means you have no idea how those nieces and nephews turn out, let alone who they are as people." Septimus smiled, "I still can't believe Iacomus is her father, he's an idiot."

"You're Lucia's uncle, so are you related to her mother or her father? I mean, you don't share a last name with either of her parents."

Septimus shrugged, “And what would it matter?”

“I asked a Lucia a year ago and she told me to ask you.”

‘A year ago? That’s a little late.”

“We’ve been a bit busy.”

Septimus took a drink from the flask on his hip as they arrived at the front door of the Leaky Cauldron and opened the door. "Alright, good night Audrey." He walked inside.

"Hey, you never answered me!"

Twenty minutes later Audrey had managed to escape the polka fans and make it up to her room at the end of the hall. She opened the door quietly and heard Lucia snoring, and open book covering her face. Audrey walked in and closed the door silently behind her, tiptoeing past Lucia's bed and towards her own next to the window. Two minutes later she was in her nightgown, wand lit, and looking for a book she had left on the windowsill that morning.

* * *

_"Don't leave dad!"_

_She leapt to her feet and reached out to grab the back of her father’s coat only for him to slip through her hands like smoke. Her eyes burned and the wooden house around her began to creak with the heat of the fire. Audrey's nostrils burned._

_There was someone in the distance coming out from the other end of the house._

" _NOLAN!"_

" _GET OUT! GET OUT!" He screamed as the roof above him began to collapse and bow down towards him. He shoved Audrey forward through the open door._

_Nolan was close behind her. She could feel his presence at her back like she had so many times before on missions._

_But he was not close enough._

_There was a terrible scream as the floor gave out beneath him with the beams of the roof followed him through the floor._

_Audrey fled._

_Only to meet a bright green light at the door._

_There was a breathless moment before Audrey ducked down, out of the line of fire of the spell. Echoing screams from the Muggle-borns who John was defending so they could escape on broomsticks, Lucia was fighting back to back with Septimus, holding back three Death Eaters, or maybe they were Aurors, they were one and the same these days._

_The breathlessness of battle stilled her heart as Audrey moved to help John._

_The house continued to crumble and Audrey heard a horrid, haunting scream of Adamina Garland from inside the burning house-_

It was not the dream that woke Audrey tonight, it was something flying across the room and hitting her in the face, causing her to sit up and struggle to catch her breath.

"Audrey! Stop shouting, I need my beauty sleep!"

The book that Lucia had thrown at her was lying in Audrey's lap, the man on the cover was redheaded, shirtless and wearing a rather low kilt as his hands moved up and down the defined muscles of his abs. Audrey blushed and tossed it aside with a shriek. "Don't throw your erotic novels at me then!"

"It's a novella actually and you were shouting before I threw the book at you."

“Why do you read that trite?”

“For the plot!”

“What _plot,_ Lucia?”

There was a banging sound coming from Cappie's room next door, right next to Audrey’s head and a muffled shout echoing through the wall. _"Be quiet! Or I'll get Mrs. Townsend!"_

Audrey had a horrid flashback to her fifth year when John and Ellie had a major fight after the Yule Ball. Ellie may have drawn power from dark forces of incredible strength that evening. Audrey, being a smart girl, had run off to hide. She and Lucia had been on the receiving end of Ellie’s teenaged temper before and did not want to repeat the experience.

Lucia and Audrey quickly exchanged a look, seemingly sharing the same horrible memories before burying their heads under the covers as if to hide. Two minutes later they were both giggling at the sheer absurdity of the situation, the giggles turned to full-blown quiet laughter that left Audrey wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes as she peered out of her blanket cocoon to find Lucia doing the same across the room.

“You want to read the book, Audie?”

“Is it as terrible as it looks?”

“Much worse.”

Audrey sighed, "Why not?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I know the world is in absolute chaos right now and nothing anyone says is going to make everything okay, but even as we quarantine for our health and the health of those we love I encourage you to act with kindness, especially towards yourself. If you're still working like I am, please be safe continue to wash your hands and make your own hand sanitizer. If you are home for the duration of quarantine, reach out to others when you feel isolated be it through a phone call or chatting with friends on the Internet. 
> 
> Turning to more story related notes.
> 
> Russell Bennett may be a little bit in love with Audrey, we'll see how that goes.
> 
> I think Diagon and Knockturn Alley are both much bigger then what is on the surface. London is in and of itself build on four different versions of itself. I may like to explore that at some point.
> 
> Lucia's novel of choice is a reference to the Scottish Highlander section of Historical Romance.


	9. Respite

_June 20th 1998_

Audrey's eyes were heavy, longing to close to try to go back to sleep. Sleep had never really come, disturbed by dreams and nightmares that melded together in a confusing mess of thoughts and memories. The result was something far from reality.

Standing in the Atrium, destroyed with a freshly melted statue, eclipsed by fire, smoke and ash. The only other person there was someone unknown and familiar…

The man reached up to remove his mask, his faced switched from Septimus' to Lucia's, John's, Ellie's, Cappie's, Russell's in turn. Audrey's eyes moved from the man in front of her to find fog forming around her, solid figures stepped out of the fog. Audrey sucked in a breath.

The other three surviving members of the Seven stepped forward. Only there was something that it took Audrey a moment to place.

Her family had no faces.

Nolan, Adamina and Martin stepped out of the smoke next. Audrey turned to face them as their voices formed an eerie chant.

_“You left us behind…”_

Audrey turned away screaming and ran into the forest behind her. Branches and vines reached out to grab her in the darkness. The outline of Bertha the plant came from the earth below and wrapped around Audrey's waist to pull her into the abyss that suddenly opened beneath her.

_“You left us behind…”_

She screamed as she felt herself begin to fall.

The old seer was riding a broomstick next to her and screaming, _"I WARNED YOU!"_

Suddenly there was Percy Weasley riding a large law book and trying to grab her hand.

_“You left us behind…”_

Audrey reached out to him.

So close…

Audrey was swallowed by the chasm below and bright flashes of light left her blinded and the cries of the wounded and dying swallowed her screams.

_“YOU LEFT US BEHIND!”_

* * *

Ellie Townsend was a woman who had stayed in Diagon Alley for most of the war, pregnant, who had a husband on the run with some of their dearest friends. Cappie feared and respected her as his usual babysitter considering their wartime alliance.

Cappie and Serena used to steal the day old bread Ellie sold for half price on the counter of her old bakery. When she finally caught him at it, she blamed her surging hormones and lack of business for her just giving him the bread. Ellie was being watched, but when she left she gave Cappie a large bag with a letter explaining the situation and some people who may be willing to feed him along with the band of children he was roving about with. Cappie quickly developed a lot of affection for the troubled, stressed out woman. With Audrey, John, and Lucia working, and Septimus was doing Merlin knew what; he hung around with Ellie and her infant son John Junior. Though, after the hustling incident Audrey may have asked Ellie to watch him. He didn't care. Ellie was nice.

Like every other morning in the Leaky Cauldron, Cappie was watching Tom wash his ale glasses. There was a rhythm to it that was mesmerizing, pick up, rinse, wash, and dry, repeat. Cappie liked it, it was simple and to the point and calming while he ate his breakfast of eggs and orange juice.

Cappie Garland had not survived the final months of the war by being stupid. He had accomplished his survival by learning valuable skills in observation. The boy already had good eyesight, and fantastic aim, but he never really noticed what was going on around him until this last year. The way Fowler's disposition was not limited to his name and how he donated his card winnings to the veterans fund, the way that Russell always seemed to time his delivery of sweets exactly when Audrey was downstairs reading the paper, or how Septimus was bringing in an increasingly strange assortment of items up to his room every evening.

Though there was a new sight today. Cappie looked over out of the corner of his eye wearily. He was wary of strangers, and this man was sitting at the other end of the bar, which was not too far away. He scooted to the far edge of his seat uncomfortably as the man placed his order with Tom and sat there quietly with the _Daily Prophet_ open before him.

"Good morning Cappie," Audrey said as she took the seat next to him, blocking the newcomer from view. Cappie relaxed slightly, Audrey made him feel safe. She was very kind, and soft-spoken most of the time, but there was something steely inside of her. She reminded him of his mum in that respect. Cappie just smiled.

“Excuse me ma’am.” The man at the other end of the counter turned towards them when Audrey spoke.

Cappie reached for the slingshot in his pocket. He liked to hold it; it made him feel safer, especially since he could crack an Enforcer over the head with a pebble from halfway down the street.

"Are you the woman who my grandmother told a fortune for about a month ago? She was in Knockturn that evening?"

Audrey blinked and looked at the man closely. Cappie leaned around Audrey for a better look, he thought he was a pretty average looking bloke; his nose was a bit crooked though. "Oh, you're that woman's grandson. The one who came looking for her."

Smiling grimly the man replied, "You remember, I apologize for her, I mentioned when we met she only started predicting deaths recently. If what she said upset you-"

"Oh, no it didn't upset me. My friends thought it was kind of funny really." Audrey's manner seemed a bit off, it sounded too forced. There was a slight nervousness in her manner. "How is she anyway?"

The man looked at the counter and took a deep breath. "My grandmother died a week ago yesterday from injuries she received during the riot."

Audrey's eyes widened about the size of tea saucers. "I-I'm sorry to hear that."

"I am to," the man said softly.

Audrey stood quickly, her body trembling "It was nice seeing you again but I need to go to work, take care of yourself.” She gave Cappie a strained smile, “Cappie, stay out of trouble."

* * *

"Aud, stop following me, and for the love of Merlin, stop staring like that! You're making me feel like a criminal." Lucia was standing in front of the mirror in the rarely used ladies toilet on the fifth floor of the Ministry brushing her long blonde hair preparing to put it in an elaborate up-do. She was pulling stray strands out of the collar of her blue work uniform and started to braid it tightly.

"I'm sorry," Audrey said as she leaned against the tiled wall. She never understood why the colors of the women's restrooms were pink. Incredibly stereotypical and a complete eyesore in Audrey's opinion.

Lucia looked at Audrey's reflection in the mirror, "Alright, what's wrong?" Audrey looked at Lucia's refection in the mirror as she continued fixing her hair. "I was on the run with you for almost a year, and shared a dorm with you for seven; I can read you like one of my novels." Audrey shuddered, remembering Lucia's preferred leisure reading materials. "Now start talking."

"You know that old fortune teller lady who you, Russell and I met last month? Well, I saw her last night and-"

Lucia's eyes rolled and her hand came up to her forehead with a dull smacking noise. "Seers are frauds, remember Trelawney? They read your body language and tell you what you want to hear. Merlin Aud, I thought you didn't believe in all that rubbish?"

_Rubbish says the woman who wins every gamble she takes on Quidditch and got an O in Divination._

Lucia sighed heavily. "Look, the lady's a nut job. That last visit involved her predicting both of our deaths and a common sense warning for Russell. I just don't think death is just around the corner for anyone we know right now." Lucia had finished putting her hair up in some form that Audrey could not name. Maybe Lucia had created it herself. "I don't want to hear what she said, I'm happier not knowing what will happen to me until it happens, if I were you I would put it out of your mind too." She paused, "You'll be all the happier for it."

Audrey bounced back and forth off the wall on her hands. “Lucia, this wasn't natural.” Audrey bit her lip and Lucia stopped playing with her hair to give Audrey her full attention. “I think the woman was already dead when I saw her and she wasn't a ghost!”

Lucia was quiet for a moment as one of her bobby pins fell out of her hair and into the sink.

_“What the hell?”_

Audrey shook and nodded her head up and down like a bobble head. “Apparently, she died last week.”

“My life was quite normal until I met you, do you know that?”

“You were normal?”

“Yes, once I too was a tittering girl with no friends.”

In that, Lucia and Audrey were very much alike.

“You’ll never see yourself as old as I…” Lucia paused thoughtfully as she repeated the words she had received the month before. “Well, I’ll look nice in my casket at any rate.”

“You are not as funny as you think you are.”

Lucia shrugged, “If I didn’t have a good laugh at all the times people have told me, _die bitch,_ or _die mudblood lover_ I would never get out of bed again. I would also be rich.”

When they were in school, Lucia occasionally had accurate gut feelings about who would win Quidditch matches and was only wrong once, her other gut feeling were pretty accurate too, but gambling on the matches in school were the incidents that came to mind most readily. The one time Lucia was wrong, she had a nasty head cold. Lucia dismissed these incidents as dumb luck and an extensive study of team tactics.

Others believed differently.

"Anyway, Aud, let's go! We are watching the front desk this morning and switching positions with another pair later." Lucia rushed for the door with Audrey in pursuit.

_I was going to ask Lucia to keep an eye on Sloan for me, but that’s not happening now…_

"Who are we switching with?"

Lucia slowed down and started walking backwards through the empty corridor. "I really have no clue, Dawson will tell us later. But one of the regular's we'll be subbing for is taking a short leave because his wife is, to quote Dawson, 'Fit to pop'. Poor thing."

Audrey shook her head and chuckled, "Yeah, Ellie says it's a little awkward later on when you can't see your own feet."

"John's trying to talk Ellie around for a sibling for Junior."

"Really?"

Lucia cackled, "John feels a bit bad that he missed the whole experience apparently. Always knew he was mad.”

"When did you find out about that?" Audrey asked as she followed Lucia into the lift.

Lucia's cackling eased to a breathy chortle, "From John. I found him sleeping in the hall last night. Ellie can hold a grudge."

"It's not his fault, John was about to get busted for being a Muggle-born in the Ministry's employment. John still wants to punch Thicknesse in the face, and I'll be glad to hold him down while he does."

"You barbarian," Lucia's laughter started again as the grates opened depositing them in the Atrium. They still had forty minute before people began pouring in. Lucia walked quickly to the desk, she had left a book there when they went upstairs and had wanted to finish it before things got busy. Audrey had brought her own source of reading material and the book was rapidly approaching the climax. Both simultaneously propped their feet on the desk and leaned back in their chairs and began to read.

It was quiet; the only sound was the water from the fountain and the sudden quickening of loud _whoosh_ sounds from the fireplaces. The rush would come through within the next fifteen minutes. The sound of high heels clicking on the floor walking towards the desk caught Audrey's attention. She heard Lucia's barely audible curse and her chair legs hitting the floor with a loud thud, Audrey quickly following suite.

The woman was tall and slim with her blonde hair swept back into a tight bun. Her high cheekbones and bright green eyes were looking at the pair with wide eyes for a brief moment before morphing into a look of disgust. Audrey glanced from Lucia to the woman, both of whom who were eyeing each other wearily. The woman looked like an older version of Lucia, blonde hair, and smug expressions... Her eyes were a slightly different shape and Lucia had a more classic elegance to her face. The realization hit Audrey like a train; the woman was Lucia's mother.

"I need to speak with an associate of my husband's upstairs," Clarita Selwyn said stoically as she dug her wand out of the sleeve of her long, flowing silk robes. Her robes were high quality, delicate, and the prettiest Audrey had ever seen. There were little white flowers on the hems of her sleeves of her violet robes. That was a detail that caught Audrey's attention.

Audrey reached up and took the wand from Clarita Selwyn, whose nose wrinkled like she smelled something nasty under her nose.

“Still rolling around in the mud, I see,” Clarita Selwyn stated with a look at her wayward daughter.

“She’s family actually, my Uncle has a thing for pretty muggle women,” Lucia sneered. “The Selwyn family tree might not be as pure as you think it is, Clarita, probably a bunch of other little half-blood Selwyn bastards running around out there.”

Audrey moved her eyes between the two women like she was watching a Ping-Pong match. She knew this had to stop, but her voice seemed to have just disappeared somewhere in her stomach.

It was not even nine in the morning yet and Audrey needed a stiff drink.

“And I’m sure not all of them are _Uncle’s_ by-blows. Maybe you should ask your husband about his Thursday night activities, because we both know he’s too _stupid_ for chess at the gentlemen’s club.”

Clarita looked ready to knock Lucia flat like a bar doorman. Audrey was debating how quickly she could block the strike. Clarita’s face was red like she was about to just start screaming at Lucia, despite the show it would inevitably cause. Though Audrey doubted she was totally ignorant of her husband’s activities, just the results of them if there were any.

Audrey placed Clarita’s wand on the table, putting the receipt in the file box with trembling hands. Audrey’s back became ramrod straight as she placed the wand she was examining on the desk next to Clarita’s hands.

"Here you go, Madam. Have a nice day."

Clarita Selwyn gave a "humph" in response before taking her wand and walking off to the lift, her heels clicking loudly on the floor. Audrey watched her walk away with a cold expression, ice settling in her stomach.

_Fall in a hole. And die. You bitch._

Lucia clenched her fists and ground her teeth; she looked deranged in her barely suppressed rage. She took a couple of deep breaths before giving Audrey an apologetic look and opening to the page where she had left off in her book, her breathing shallow and uneven. Lucia stood up suddenly, snapping her book closed. "I'm going to go talk to Dawson. I'll be back in a few minutes with that coffee you like."

Audrey knew her friend was lying; she was not going to talk to Dawson. She was going for a walk to blow off steam before her temper got the best of her.

_Lucia, that woman never deserved you._

* * *

A few hours later Audrey and Lucia found themselves stuffed in the doorframe of the cafeteria with a sea of employees in front of and behind them leaving Audrey feeling more then slightly claustrophobic. The mob moved forward pulling them into out into the corridor. Audrey somehow ended up caught in a group of Magical Maintenance workers who were exchanging dirty jokes about pipes and wenches as the mob force moved towards the lift and began to cram themselves inside.

Audrey found her face against the wall of the lift. She turned and was now straining to reach the button to get to the top floor. Audrey sighed, she needed a tall person. Lucia was nowhere to be seen from Audrey’s prospective; they must have gotten separated from each other in the madness. A tall, balding, redheaded wizard was blocking her view of the people in front of her.

Oh well, maybe it was better if no one noticed her at all.

The lift stopped at each floor with a loud, echoing groan at each and every floor. The groaning made her uncomfortable, like the lift was going to fall off the rope at any time. Audrey closed her eyes and shook her head; thinking like that was not a good thing. Especially not in a creaky lift.

Finally, the grates opened at the top floor with Audrey and a few members of the support staff rushing out of the stuffy lift. The corridor was well lit with white walls and a few stray paintings on the walls. One of a witch in white robes halfway through with transfiguring a desk into a lion. Audrey stared at it for a moment, she thought it was pretty.

"Audrey, you coming?" Audrey spun around as Lucia grabbed her by the arm and dragged Audrey behind her.

"Why are you in such a hurry, it's just sitting in front of a door."

"And playing cards, Aud! I like playing cards."

"You just want revenge for the game I won the other night." Lucia had found that defeat particularly embarrassing.

"Yes I do." Lucia deposited Audrey into chair at a desk outside the door of the Minister's office and summoned another chair to the other side of the desk, then drawing a deck of cards out of her sleeve and beginning to shuffle. "Walker says this is a dull post anyway. Just a bunch of memos and a few diplomats coming in and out. Now, the name of the game is Exploding Snap, nothing dirty, dangerous, or stupid."

"Deal."

Ten minutes later after Lucia had lost her first game of cards and Audrey was dealing their second hand the three members of the immediate support staff had finally made it through the sea of people to their shared working space on the top floor. There was a moment's pause before a voice spoke up, sounding confused, annoyed, and disgusted. "What are you two _doing?"_

Lucia looked up from the cards she had fanned in front of her face coyly. "We are playing an illicit card game, what's it look like we're doing?"

Audrey smiled, "It's not too late to deal you in."

"Pass," Percy gave them both a rather nasty glare and strolled inside.

When the door snapped closed behind him, Audrey's voice softened as she turned her attention to Lucia.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Lucia leaned back and bit her lip as she looked anywhere but at Audrey. She placed her cards on top of the deck to be reshuffled and her hands wrung together as she began to fidget in her seat.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, I'm here if you do though."

Lucia sighed, "No, no it's fine. I don't think I've ever told you this." She bit her lower lip. "In case you never noticed, Clarita and I have never had a good relationship. Seeing her again just felt," she paused, "like I was back in that terrible house. She never valued me as a person. I was a tool."

Audrey's eyebrows kitted together in concern.

"I told them about my friends when I came home from our first year. I was so excited about actually having friends that I had chosen for myself, she promptly asked about your bloodstatus and family. When I told her and father that you and John were Muggle-borns she said to me, I'll never forget it, " _Drop the mudbloods, the half-blood is passible,"_ is exactly what she said to me _._ That's all she cares about. She then told me to find new friends, ones from the sacred twenty-eight preferably." She smiled grimly. "I realized today after she left the check-in desk that if she had even an ounce of actual courage and had gotten physically involved in the war I would have treated her the same way I did my cousin Dominicus. _Without mercy."_ Lucia's head hung in a quiet shame as she moved her eyes up to gaze at Audrey from under her eyelashes. "Does that make me a bad person? Willing to possibly kill my blood family, my own _mother,_ for politics?"

Audrey struggled for a moment; she studied practical things not ethics. She struggled to keep her expression neutral as she thought through the scenario Lucia proposed.

"I don't think so."

"Really? Because it sounds like Death Eater thinking to me."

"You didn't kill Dominicus."

Lucia sighed, "My intention was to kill him before he could hurt anyone I actually cared about. He would have killed me if given half of a chance. Dominicus just got out of the way in time." Lucia slumped over in her chair, her proud façade finally giving way to reveal Lucia's quieter nature. Her voice was soft like a whisper of wind through a field of grass. "The truth is, I'm still struggling to make my peace with the things we did and the things we didn't do."

"We're alive, we all have regrets," Audrey put a hand on Lucia's wringing hands, "but being alive shouldn't be one of them." Audrey bit her lower lip before continuing, “Listen, I know you. I don’t think you’re a bad person. You’re the best person I know; you’re intelligent, brave, and selfless. Attacking Dominicus was an act of self-defense, you did what you had to do to save your own life and frankly, I don’t want to imagine a world without a Lucia Selwyn in it.”

The Seven’s Relocation Operation was success that ended in horrible failure. They had saved dozens of Muggle-borns in route to Azkaban, upset the plans of Death Eaters and Snatchers when they could. Lucia had been integral to their success helping Septimus run communication between their contacts and independent cells. No one else could have accomplished what she did.

Lucia gave Audrey a glowing smile before she turned her gaze to the ceiling; her eyes seemed clouded like she was seeing something that was not there. "I have a lot of regrets. I see much more in our future."

"Having another vision or feeling philosophical?" Audrey removed her hand from Lucia’s with a squeeze and started to shuffle the cards loudly. She had a feeling Lucia was about to start waxing philosophical over life and death, Septimus did it too and Audrey believed it was a family trait. Audrey could not bring herself to touch the constantly jiggling blob of her own feelings on the subject of the war. It was easier to steer Lucia away from the subject until Audrey was emotionally able to help her process.

Audrey could admit to herself that she was not in a good place either.

"I'm _not_ a seer."

Lucia had been denying that for years!

"You won me ten galleons on the outcome of Puddlemere's match two years ago. Russell _cried!"_

"Didn't he pay you in sweets?" Lucia smiled and brushed a loose strand of her hair back away from her face and tucked it back behind her ear. She was quickly coming back to herself.

"That's part of the reason why he was crying, I'm sure."

Lucia began to laugh; she started to snort as her laughter grew more consuming and intense. She grew louder and tried to muffle the noise behind her hand.

"Oh part of the reason for sure! He wanted a kiss, remember?"

* * *

The Minister had sent his support staff home early. Audrey had no idea why, she was just a guard, nobody told her anything unless they needed someone to catch a mouse that had ran under a desk. Information flowed downhill and changed by each source until the information was vastly different from the original source. This made Audrey smile; she could go back to the Leaky and help Septimus with his latest interpretation of the law for the suing to the government. Though he had said it was his personal project, he may put her to work on the regular studies. Either way, it would be far more interesting than the usual politics she had been involved with recently.

After dismissal, the other two members of the support staff ran out at first opportunity, Lucia beat Audrey to the first lift down and smiled and waved as it began to descend. Audrey rolled her eyes as she wrapped the cards in a rubber band, Lucia always left the mess. She looked down at the desk on last time, to make sure she had left nothing behind and waiting for the lift to come back up to the top floor.

The grates opened wide and Audrey stepped inside, thinking seriously for a few minutes about clocking out early to get some sleep before being drawn out of her thoughts by someone sticking a briefcase into the closing door. The grates opened again and Percy Weasley walked in. Audrey could expect this to be a quiet ride down to the main level, until there was a loud screeching sound from the lift and a jerk that sent Audrey to the floor with a scream.

_"See that man at the bar there, the one with a walking stick? That's the guy you should talk with about a job. His last apprentice left last week so he could probably use the help."_

_Audrey looked over at the man curiously, he was obviously intoxicated and was rocking back and forth on the bar stool as the man next to him laughed. The young man behind the counter shook his head and rolled his eyes with a good-natured smile. The Sneezing Snitch had just opened for the evening and the regulars were just starting to pour in, some already intoxicated._

_"What does he do?"_

_The man sitting across from Audrey shrugged, "He runs a bookshop right here in the Alley. There is a rumor of illegal dealings. Though, I can't get anything concrete."_

_Audrey looked at the old man wearily, "It's a job at least. Should I ask now or go to the shop tomorrow?"_

_"Go tomorrow, and if he says no keep persisting but leave my name out of it."_

_"Thank you Mr. Bennett._

_"Call me Russell."_

The lift stalled between floors.

Audrey removed her hands from her ears and looked around nervously. Just her luck to be stuck in a lift and she thought she was going to have a nice quiet evening.

 _Sure_ she was. Audrey had not had a quiet evening in _years._

Hell, she was starting to think she was cursed.

Percy looked around the lift, placing his briefcase down against the wall. He looked a bit pale as Audrey stated that she thought they had broken down as she adjusted herself to lean against the wall of the lift and began to shuffle the cards to pass the time. She was not a very good shuffler and usually left that job up to her more card shark-like friends.

"You okay?"

"Yes, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Audrey replied as her cards began to snap and give off small explosions in her hand. She yelped as she tossed the cards away as they continued to crackle. "Darn it." She crawled over to pick them up. Audrey placed them back in the rubber band and sat back against the wall and they both sat there in silence.

Audrey felt awkward. It wasn't like being stuck anywhere with her friends, they would make jokes about why Death Eaters _really_ wore masks among other things. She thought Percy was almost too quiet at points, like it was not a normal thing for him the way it was for Audrey.

Septimus said once that quiet people would usually be passed over and ignored but would usually have the best information. Those were the people Audrey tried to talk with if she was looking for information, quiet people, gossips, and barkeeps. Audrey was one of those quiet observers unless she was asking questions, the situation quickly dissolved in an amount of incomprehensible awkwardness.

"Hullo, everything alright in there?" The voice was different from the perky female voice that Audrey associated with the lifts. It was obviously male and sounded familiar, though distorted over the intercom. "Who's in there?"

Percy looked up, "Felix? Is that you?"

"Weatherby?"

Percy scowled, his ears going slightly red.

Audrey giggled.

"You have bad luck, mate. First the bulldog incident, the knife thrower, the book that tried to rip your nose off, the plant in the D of M, now this, what next?"

"Funny how none of that would have happened if I had never met you."

"Hey, don't blame me for any of that."

Percy looked rather exasperated by this point. "All of that stuff that happened to me seemed to occur after you said something in Gaelic."

There was some indignant sputtering from the intercom with some muffled laughter from another party in the room. "I speak Irish you twit! My great-grandfather's a leprechaun!"

Audrey looked up with interest; her Irish grandmother had taught her how to speak her second tongue from the cradle. She had never met anyone else who could speak it before. Though her grandmother had died when she was about ten and Audrey only remembered the curses off the top of her head at this point in her life.

Percy blinked slowly and Audrey noted the look of realization crossing his face. "He wasn't joking?" He sighed and took off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I thought he was joking about that."

Felix's voice went back to a professional, joking tone. "I don't know why you're so suspicious, Percy. I don't have any sign of leprechaun magic. All I did was wish you the best of luck at a really bad time." Felix sounded confused, "How would that have anything to do with it? It's a coincidence."

From what Audrey knew of magical creature magic and their interbreeding with wizards she would be willing to call Felix's claims codswallop.

Percy seemed like he was of the same opinion she was. "How do you not have any sign of that?"

"I'm wondering too, my great-grandfather was _really_ disappointed. I can't even see the fairies in the fairy rings, my mother cried when she found that out! They think I'm a disappointment to the clan."

Audrey decided to alert Felix to her presence, maybe he would tell her about those incidents. The knife thrower incident sounded rather interesting. "How are you doing, Felix?"

"Hm… Hullo Audrey, I'm fine, how are you? Anyone else in there we need to know about? The Head of Magical Maintenance, maybe? I haven't seen him all day."

Audrey shook her head before realizing that she was responding to a disembodied voice, "Just us. We're both fine."

"Just the two of you," Audrey heard a slight waver of laughter in his voice. "That's funny. Anyway, Magical Maintenance and I have started working on the charm work on this end. Sit tight, I'll check in with you both in a few minutes." The intercom clicked and they were alone again.

Audrey started shuffling her cards again while Percy opened his briefcase to bring out his crossword and a quill. "I thought you finished that already?"

"I'm down to my last word; I need an eleven letter word for concise, starts with an _e,_ a _p,_ and ends with a _c._ "

"Um, epigrammatic. It was the _Prophet's_ word of the day yesterday."

"Thank you." Percy filled in the last word on his crossword and put the paper back in his briefcase before leaning back against the wall. Audrey could agree it was going to be a long wait.

She rested the back of her head against the wall. She doubted Magical Maintenance was going to get them out of here quickly, might as well make conversation.

"So, how did you meet Felix?"

Percy cringed, "That's… a long story."

"I think we have the time."

There was a clinking noise above them that made them both jump.

"That's Felix trying to be useful," Percy, sighed like a man who had realized that life was plainly out to get him, causing Audrey to laugh quietly. "The short version is that I met Felix when I first started at the Ministry, for some reason he was doing Merlin-knows-what with a pair of deer antlers while trying to get into experimental charms to talk to a secretary he liked."

"What was he doing with the antlers?"

"He was trying to claim it was spell backfire, wanted her to fix it for him."

Audrey laughed, "What did she say?"

"She told him to come back when he had a real problem, pulled the antlers off his head, threw them at me and told me to take Felix with me when I went back to my department." He paused and looked intently at the wall across from him. "He never left. Felix insisted on dragging me down to the cafeteria to eat with him and his friend every day."

"Piper?"

Percy nodded, "We didn't meet John until a couple of years later."

"Understandably, he was in the same year as the tw-" Audrey paused, "Same year as George, I mean." Percy's posture slumped, "I am so sorry."

"It's alright."

It wasn't.

They sat in silence; Percy starting on his puzzle again while Audrey started playing with her deck of cards. It did not take long for Audrey to look back at him and hold her cards up for him to look at.

"Do you know any card games? I only know four and only one of them is for two people."

"Solitaire."

"You're hilarious."

He smiled for a few seconds before setting his puzzle down and holding his hand out for Audrey's deck of cards. "I might remember a few."

"Good!" Audrey passed him the cards and he started to shuffle them.

"Have you ever played Dragon Fury?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Okay, here's what you do." He started to deal the cards and explain the rules of the game. It was very a very simple game; Percy took a piece of parchment out of his suitcase to keep score.

After an hour the game ended with Percy as the victor, placing his winning hand on the lift floor triumphantly.

"Another round?"

Audrey laughed before being overcome by a yawn. "No thank you. That was fun though." She slumped against the wall and fidgeted herself into a more comfortable position.

Percy picked the cards back up and followed Audrey's example and leaned back and made himself comfortable. Audrey made a split second decision to stand back up and sit next to Percy so there would be more room for them to stretch without kicking each other.

"What is taking Felix so long?"

"I have no idea, I was supposed to go home long ago," Audrey groaned as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I had plans tonight. Like eating dinner."

Percy pulled a pocket watch out of his robe pocket, "It's six o'clock."

Audrey sighed again and closed her eyes. She was to tired to keep her eyes open, and a short nap might help her ignore her hunger.

* * *

The grates opened with a groan. Felix was standing there as they opened with a large smile. "That didn't take as long as I thought. You two all right or-" He stopped short and started snickering. "Damn, all the blackmail I'll need for the next six months. Ratchet, could you find me a camera." The Maintenance elf disapparated as Felix continued to snicker.

The two of them had dozed off between his call and the finished repair on the lift two hours later. Audrey's head had come to rest on Percy's shoulder while he snored loudly. Upon Ratchet's return Felix began to snap pictures.

"This is for calling my mother tongue mere _Gaelic."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucia and Audrey share an interesting flaw of youth. They are good at giving other people advice, but not very good at taking their own. 
> 
> I like exploring Lucia's emotional journey, or at least the aftereffects of it. The worst part of a traumatic event in my experience is when you have real time to think about it.


	10. Bowels, Books and Booze

_June 20th 1998_

"Any luck?" The woman asked as she peered over her associate's shoulder. The desk where he was had been trying to open the book for the past weeks was covered in papers written in a shorthand for a complicated spell that they believed could help them open the book, without Lowell's papers on how to do so. It was not finished yet, but it would be soon with any luck.

The man in the golden mask looked back over his shoulder at the woman. "I would be farther along if your handwriting wasn't so sloppy."

The woman scowled, "Watch it. I am only letting you play with it just in case I missed something." The book began to shake violently, the man jumped out of the chair in terror. "Like that."

"That's unnatural… Even the books in the restricted section at Hogwarts never did that unless they were opened." He leaned over the book nervously

The woman smirked, "I told you before it is an unnatural book. There's something bound within, I believe, something powerful. And if there is, I intend to use it."

"You're a scary woman."

"So they tell me." She sat down in a chair by the window calmly placing her hands in her lap. "Oh, and watch your hand. The book is leaking its dark magic."

The masked man leapt back as the magic stung his hand. "I hope you know what you're dealing with."

"I have a vague idea, I'll explain the details to you sometime." The woman smiled. "Over dinner if you're interested?"

Easing his way back into the chair, the man in the mask leaned forward elbows on his knees. Ignoring the question of dinner for the moment, there were more important things on the agenda. He focused his gaze on her striking face to get her focus her attentions fully on him. "Why is this book so important? How is it connected to everything else you are looking for?"

The woman straightened her robes, the man could not help but notice they were made of a fine material and the area from below her knees and elbows was all black lace. He only knew her name; even then, he dared not speak it. Everything else was a mystery, the mystery only made things more exciting then they already were. "Just help me find what I need and the power you desire is yours."

The man smiled behind his golden mask. “I have to ask, how are your new recruits doing?”

The woman sighed, “One is competent and useful. The other is proving himself by clearing a path for me into the Department of Mysteries tomorrow.”

“The Department of Mysteries? That’s ambitious.” He twirled a quill between his fingers. “Are you sure about the plan to get in there?”

“I double-checked it myself. Enough people should be out for a conference and all but a few of the rest should be out with the maintenance teams. It will give me enough time to find what we need.”

“And the boss? What does he think?” The man asked as if he already knew the answer.

“Better to ask forgiveness then permission, Amon. Especially if it involves something that will open so many doors for the Circle.”

* * *

_June 21 st, 1998_

The posting sign was upside-down again. This meant that somebody got distracted, or Walker had another date with the identical twins and wanted to let the rest of the people know about it, though who would find it interesting Audrey would never understand, maybe he was bragging. As she reached up to set the sign upright, Audrey noticed next to her name was a note that said, _See Dawson._

Audrey blinked; she could not remember doing anything incredibly stupid at work recently. Maybe she was not doing her job up to the Ministry's standard? What if she was being fired? Was this about the illicit card game on the Minister's floor? Oh Merlin, what if this was about the plant incident; she knew she should have obliviated that glorified secretary! Why didn’t she consider it?

_Because he’s cute when he’s fussing._

There were some teasing jokes about what war hero she tackled this week and hearty slaps on the back that almost knocked her to the floor as she squeezed her way through the crowd that had gathered for their assignments after Audrey had up righted the sign. She apologized as she stepped on someone's foot and staggered out of the crowd. Audrey walked down the hall to the large oak door that led to Dawson's office. It seemed larger and scarier than usual.

Audrey knocked softly on the door and got no response, she knocked louder and a booming voice answered back. "Come in!"

She opened the door and peered through the widening crack nervously. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

Dawson spun his chair away from the window, which seemed to be displaying a hurricane as today's weather. "Yes, I did."

He motioned for Audrey to take a seat on the other side of his desk where he placed a wooden stool. It was a formality to try and make his office look more inviting. Audrey had heard he was not good at Transfiguration and wooden stools were the only furniture he could create with some skill. Apparently he would borrow chairs for more professional encounters like interviews.

She sat down on the tiny stool and found her eyes level with the edge of his desk and her knees up to her chest.

This was awkward.

Dawson leaned over the desk, "You know if you would rather stand or make your own chair, I won't be offended at all."

"Oh, no, this is fine." She always figured that if she were going to be fired she would rather be sitting this close to the ground anyway, "What did you want to talk to me about sir?"

Audrey had a good enough view of the top of Dawson's desk to see him put his elbows on the desk and drum his fingers together in thought. "Well, let's see there is something I need to ask you about."

_Oh no!_

"I didn't mean to get that bloke attacked by a Bertha, honest! She just came out of nowhere and dragged him off! He's fine I swear, he only lost a shoe!" Dawson's face went blank; he was blinking slowly as if trying to comprehend what Audrey was saying.

"What are you talking about?"

' _I guess that's not why I'm here. He doesn't know, okay then.'_ Audrey reflected on what she had said in a horrified panic, ' _That sounded a bit wrong…'_

"I guess it was a really strange dream. Never mind…"

Dawson coughed, "Well, I wanted to know if you would be interested in going with Magical Maintenance into the bowels of the Ministry. Now before you say anything, we are not entirely sure if there's anything down there we should be concerned about and with your previous job history you seem like a good candidate to go with them and make sure they don't find anything too nasty."

"What do you mean by _too nasty?_ " Audrey straightened her back so her nose was now even with the edge of the desk.

Dawson visibly shuddered, "Experimental Charms has had things escape down there before and some strange things from the Department of Mysteries also. With everything going on during the war no expeditions were sent down to check and see if everything was in working order. Some teams of Enforcers and a couple of rookie Aurors just cleared it for repairs, but most of the maintenance staff still doesn't feel to secure about going down without somebody to keep watch while they take care of what repairs need doing. I'll understand if you say no, but this is a special request."

Audrey closed her eyes for a moment. She was tired of sitting at the desk most of the day, it sounded like the place was already cleared out so it would just be more of a pleasant walk in the dark then anything else.

“Also, there’s something else,” Dawson just looked tired at this point, “This is the only team heading into the bowels, the others are heading into the Department of Mysteries for a department wide spellcheck with a few of the researchers to reinforce the wards. We’re short of researchers for the teams and the researchers hate leaving their department for some reason. Would you be able to set up basic wards in bowels as well so we don’t have to hear them complain?”

"Sure. Where do I need to go?"

Dawson smiled, "Good, look for a maintenance worker called Perrault. He and his team will be waiting by the lift to the library. It's the most direct route to the bowels. Though there are others spread throughout the Ministry."

Audrey raised an eyebrow as she rose to her feet. "I'm sorry, _Perrault?_ "

Dawson sighed, "World's worst misfortune, he's French."

"Oh," Audrey smiled, thanked Dawson and walked out through crowd of people who were trying to eavesdrop at the door and ignored the put upon response of Dawson to the eavesdroppers.

" _Really?_ Why are you all so nosy?"

She walked out of the security section and down towards the lifts trying not to get swept away with the crowd. Audrey was not very successful in this regard; she somehow managed to stumble into an older man who was halfway into the lift. Apologizing quickly to the balding redheaded man Audrey moved to the other end of the lift hiding behind a rather large woman with hair resembling a beehive. Audrey looked up at the woman's hair curiously, it was not even attractive. She shrugged and walked out of the lift quickly expecting the sudden jerk that brought her to the floor during her last visit. The counter seemed a logical place to start if she wanted to know where maintenance was meeting.

Behind the counter was the old woman who Audrey was willing to wager her paycheck was the master librarian. She seemed more imposing when Audrey was not hiding behind a bookshelf. Her hair was a bright silver color and pulled back in a loose bun. She looked very interested in the book she was reading. Audrey stepped back behind the bookshelf to take a deep breath, talking to strangers in an unfamiliar setting was enough to make her run and hide somewhere. Lucia was the bold one. As Audrey stepped back out the man she had stumbled into was talking with the librarian. She stepped back for a moment, and then walked forward stepping behind the man.

"Good morning, Arthur, how are you? Anything I can help you with today?"

"I'm fine Marion, I'm wondering if you got that book about escapators?"

' _Esca- who now?'_

The woman looked confused for a moment, "Oh, you mean this one?" She gave him the book she was reading. "Sorry, there is some pretty interesting stuff in there."

"Thank you very much." Arthur flipped through the book eagerly. "How's you cousin doing at Saint Mungo's?"

Red hair, shabby robes… Audrey's brows knit together for a moment. He must be a Weasley.

"Yvonne's doing really well, she's working on a new potion for pain relief from arthritis!" The woman stood and peered around the man, "Anything I can help you with, dear?" The man she was speaking with turned as well.

Audrey suddenly felt very embarrassed and was sorely tempted to run far away into the shelves and never be seen again, but she stood firm and answered the question pretending that Septimus would show up and start on a self-esteem lecture. His last lecture was an incredibly hypocritical one about paranoia. He had apparently rigged his room to the point that one of the maids wound up pinned against the door by an impressive array of spells, and Septimus decided it would be a good time to start on Audrey about sleeping with a three inch sheathed knife under her pillow.

"I'm wondering where I can find Perrault? I was told I could find him and his maintenance team down here."

The master librarian appeared to smile and wince in one motion. "They're in the back of the Defense Against the Dark Arts section. Go through there, it's down this way," she pointed to the Astronomy section, "Through Deadly Botany to the right, and make a left at the end of the aisle. You can't miss them."

"Thank you ma'am," Audrey dashed off not wanting to keep the people she was going to be working with waiting.

"And don't run in my library!" Audrey slowed to a brisk walk. "Slow down!" She brought herself to a normal walking pace. Audrey was quite proud of herself; she had managed to show a decent amount of restraint as she walked through the defense section. She only stopped to read the covers of seven books.

There was a group of three people at the end of the section. All three were men talking nervously as they looked through some books on the table; they all seemed to be in their mid-thirties to late forties and maybe a bit jumpy. Damn her luck. No wonder they wanted somebody to keep watch, to scared to do their own jobs, she imagined older people whose reflexes were slowed with age not people in the later prime of life. She could be off looking for the sympathizer, or catching potential dark wizards who tried to break into the Ministry; instead she was going to be a watchdog while trying to make decent wards.

Audrey looked up at the high ceiling hoping that some great force would crash upon her. Jumpy people, from her experience, were a complete menace. They were a little more likely to scream when something crazy happened, that almost got her killed on more than one occasion during the war.

The oldest looking man looked up from the book looking straight at Audrey. She took a step back nervously. "Are you the guard who's going to escort us down to the bowels?"

Audrey pretended for a moment that she was helping out in the shop, which was where she was at her most confident. She smiled and gave a bright reply of, "Yes sir!"

Another man grinned, "He doesn't look like he could fight his way out of a paper sack, Perrault."

"A wet paper sack, Maddox. Doesn't even look old enough to shave."

The third man just sat there quietly with an obnoxious looking smirk.

Audrey blinked; they thought she was a boy. Unbelievable. She looked down for a moment, through not completely without founding. Her uniform was one that she picked up used out of the security uniform closet when she first took the job. Of the three she had, one was a perfect fit. The second was a bit baggier, and a bit too long. And then there was this one, to wide. Even with a belt it still bore some resemblance to a tent. But the length was good, and she had been meaning to take it to Ellie to see if she could take it in any, but Ellie had been so busy with the baby and the baking and everything that Audrey hardly wanted to bother her about it. Audrey had tried to mend her clothes before but it would hardly be of Ministry security uniform standard, and her repair jobs involved multicolored patches of some sort.

Perrault looked, squinted more like, past Audrey as if looking for someone else to magically appear behind her. Someone taller with a little more muscle, Audrey suspected. "You're all Dawson gave us?"

Audrey bobbed her head up and down quickly.

"I need you to speak boy, I can hardly see you."

Audrey did not care enough to correct him.

"Yes sir!"

A rush of air passed Perrault's lips. "Alright then, everybody up and follow me." The other two men stood and followed Perrault like they had done this a thousand times before. Audrey walked quickly after them, her hand resting on the holster around her leg.

Perrault seemed to know the route far better than his companions. Audrey was willing to guess he had been doing this job for years and could quite possibly find his way to the bowels in his sleep. After a short stroll through the shelves that left Audrey slightly dizzy they stood in front of a small door. Perrault bent down and held his wand against the keyhole and mumbled a spell that Audrey could not make out. The door swung open and they followed Perrault into a small lift, and began their descent.

"How deep are we going, Forrester?" Perrault asked as Maddox looked up at the ceiling exhaustedly. Perrault must ask this question a lot.

The quiet man gave the appropriate response. "Nobody knows for sure," he looked at Audrey, "there is no recorded record of how far below the Department of Mysteries the bowels is located, but there are entrances all over the Ministry itself. How they managed that, we aren't sure. There are different levels, though everything we fix regularly is on the floor we are visiting now." Audrey wondered if that little speech was for her benefit.

"Usual spot then?"

Perrault nodded as the lift opened and they stepped out into the dark room. It was pitch black. Audrey could not even see the hand she had waved experimentally in front of her face. They all lit their wands and began the long walk through the main level.

The shadows seemed to leap and dance upon the walls. Audrey had staggered back into Forrester and walked into Maddox's back three times while Perrault had stopped to check on something or pointed his wand at one of the resident rats and tried to shoot them, believing them escaped experiments. They finally stopped in a large empty area that was covered in puddles of water ranging from large too small. Audrey knelt down next to one for a better look. A drop of water fell into it causing ripples. Holding her wand aloft, Audrey notice the source was a low hanging pipe above her. She fired a series of small balls of light into various parts of the room to reveal the full size of the space.

Perrault looked up at the lights and told his staff that they knew the drill. The three of them stood firm and began muttering their enchantments for the different repair jobs on the pipes and other things that Audrey had not seen yet. It lit the room in multicolored lights, which caused Audrey to stare openmouthed in awe.

She moved to place a hand on the wall and check the flow of magic through the space. It was like peeling an onion to get past the current spell work to the previous wards of containment, silence and durability. Audrey left her hand on the wall as she peered out towards the open space of the bowels to make sure they did not get ambushed.

These spells were over seven years old; they should have been reconstructed at the seven-year mark and checked every three years. This did not bode well for her own ward creation, then very little spell remnant to piggyback off of for her own wards.

Even with a war on, this should have done.

She took a deep breath and focused, ignoring the lights from the maintenance teams repair spells. Audrey’s work was subtler.

The tip of her wand began to glow, Audrey’s teeth clenched as she felt magic flow through her body like a series of small electrocutions as a durability ward flowed from her fingertips and into the walls. A second for containment ward was next, to help keep things where they were supposed to be and nefarious things out of this space. Lastly, a ward of silence to encase the space with protections from spell backfire and silence any sounds from within the space.

Audrey staggered and slumped against the wall as she finished. Her heart was hammering in her chest; she had never done wards alone for a space this big before. Usually Septimus would help with something like this if there were no spell remnants to pick up on.

Audrey did not have enough energy to do this job alone, the researchers from the Department of Mysteries would have to toughen up and do it themselves as a group. What she had done should be sufficient for a few days until they could do so. 

Her attention was removed from her thoughts by the sounds of quacking. Loud quacking that seemed to be coming from all over the room. Audrey strengthened her lights with a thought _'Lumos Maxima!'_ and sent one of the small balls of light into the places where the sound was coming from.

Audrey reeled backwards and almost fell into a puddle. These were not normal ducks. They were colored in bright colors that reminded Audrey of poisonous frogs found in some jungles of the world. The bright colors were a warning to other species that they were not to be trifled with and were venomous. Audrey's eyes grew larger as she counted at least fifteen bright, multicolored ducks.

_"Damn."_

She tightened her grip in her wand and pointed it at the nearest duck feeling a bit bad about potentially killing a member of the animal kingdom. A rather mutated member of the animal kingdom, but still… "Perrault, I think you might want to make an evacuation order."

Perrault looked up from his spell squinting in the direction of the nearest duck. "What is it?"

Maddox and Forester looked up and let their spells fizzle out quietly.

"I thought they got everything out of here." Maddox said quietly as he pointed his wand at a duck that was coming a little too close to the group. The feathers at its neck ruffled and its eyes glowed red in the darkness.

Forester had his wand pointed at the direction they came from fully prepared to blast their way out of there.

_'Reducto!'_ Audrey thought loudly as the first duck flew forward. It disappeared in a flash of bright feathers and the smell of burning meat. The remainder of the ducks scattered into the dark.

"That's it. We're heading up everybody. I'm afraid we're not paid enough to deal with large flocks of poisonous ducks." Perrault said as he looked closely at a green feather lying at his feet.

_I think he means venomous…_

"What the hell were they doing in the Experimental Charms office?"

Audrey was more inclined to believe this was more related to the Department of Mysteries. She was sure those ducks had teeth!

Maddox whipped around and held out his arm to draw Perrault's attention to the room. "Do you really think this is the best place to be asking questions?"

Forrester was already moving towards the exit. Audrey grabbed the back of his robes and hauled him back.

"If we leave, we leave together." She turned to face Perrault. "I'll bring up the rear and keep anything from following us if you lead us out of here."

Perrault lit his wand and pointed it into the darkness ahead. Audrey noted the slight trembling of his wrist.

The husky, whisper of Maddox's voice broke through the silence, "Nothing ahead."

"Just the ducks behind us then?" Audrey asked, a shield charm at the edge of her mind as she stared the ducks down who were peering out of the shadows. The idea of higher intelligence for these escaped experiments was not impossible.

Perrault seemed satisfied with this; he nodded his head and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Everyone follow me, move fast, be quiet, and stay alert!"

The group nodded and moved forward as a singular unit. As they moved forward into the dark corridor the ducks stepped out of the shadows and advanced in a tight formation. Audrey held her ground until they were close and then threw up a shield spell so quickly that they were blasted to the back of the large room before running to catch up with the maintenance team. She turned to throw down a barrier to make sure that they were not followed. It sprung up in a blaze of light.

Forrester looked back and gave her a toothy grin. "Nice!"

"It'll hold until they get some professionals down here." Audrey responded as Perrault made the last turn to the lift and waved them all on before getting on himself.

"We all need a raise." Maddox said as the lift doors closed and they began their ascent to the library.

"And a shower." Forrester added with a hand over his nose for effect.

Perrault snorted to try and cover his laugh. "I'm sure Dawson will let us use his department's."

They stepped back into the library and began to make their way through the bookshelves.

There was a sudden smack on Audrey's upper back that almost knocked her over. She turned to look at who had done that and found a very proud looking Perrault with an ecstatic grin on his face. "Excellent work down there, boy! I'll be mentioning your work to Dawson and requesting you to come do some more work with us if he can spare you."

Audrey thought she would rather do anything else then go back down there.

Like lick the Minister's shoes.

They stepped into the lift with exclamations of how exciting that trip to the bowels was and how the other maintenance workers were not going to believe them about the ducks.

The lift ride itself to the second floor to tell Head Auror Robards his troops had missed more then a few ducks was rather uneventful. They just stood there in silence as they rode the lift to the second floor, when they had first gotten in; the lift seemed to clear out mysteriously at the next floor. Maddox pointed out that those who had just left were diplomats and high-ranking officials who did not want to be seen with such lowly workers as themselves. Maintenance was usually not seen on these floors in the middle of a workday.

Audrey suspected it had more to do with the colorful feathers that covered everyone's robes made them all look like they had escaped from a pillow factory.

Also, Audrey agreed with Forrester's statement that they all needed a shower.

As the lift rose it stopped on a floor to pick up another passenger. Audrey took her eyes off the toes of her boots to find a familiar face surveying the lift.

"Hello, Audrey."

Perrault looked up as if somebody set fire to his robes. Forester and Maddox started laughing while Perrault squinted at Audrey. Then his eyes widened like saucers. "Wait, you're a girl?"

Forester and Maddox laughed harder, while Percy looked from Perrault, Forester and Maddox, and then Audrey. By Audrey's reasoning he looked really confused.

"I-I'm so sorry, I couldn't tell! Why didn't you say something?" Perrault looked at Forester and Maddox. "How long did you two know?"

"She ran into me a couple of time while we were in the bowels," Maddox said as he caught his breath.

"I knew from the start, I just wanted to see how long it would take you two to notice. Perhaps you and Maddox need to take advantage of your insurance and get your eyes checked again."

The maintenance workers walked out giving Audrey a couple more hearty smacks on the back while making jokes about Perrault's bad eyesight and eventual retirement.

Audrey felt the early stages of a headache behind her eyes and sighed. "I need to tell Dawson what happened."

Percy pulled a small vile out of his pocket and held it out to Audrey. “Pepper-up potion, you look like you need it.”

“Yes I do,” Audrey took it and downed the vile, steam quickly emerging from her ears as her headache subsided as quickly as it tried to arrive. “Thank you.”

Percy gave her a grin that made Audrey’s heart stop for a moment to reset itself.

“I’ll tell the whole story at lunch if you like.”

The lift stopped, Percy moved forward slightly. “I think that would be great.”

* * *

"Scully, 'ave you ev'r considered marriage?"

"You're not my type, Septimus."

Septimus laughed, holding his head in his hands. "Not w'at I meant." Septimus leaned over the counter and looked at Scully seriously. As he opened his mouth again Scully turned his attention to Celeste Cadwallader, who appeared to have become a semi-permanent fixture in the Sneezing Snitch lately. He changed his train of thought as quickly as a drunken man could manage, "Ya're still tryin' to get into Cadwallader's knickers?"

"What?" Celeste said flatly as she looked at Scully who was looking, at that moment like a man deeply considering a murder. "I think I have some paperwork to finish at the Leaky Cauldron, I'll talk to you later."

Scully’s mouth fell open, leaving him with a rather like a fishlike expression. His face was a vibrant pink as he leaned over the bar counter to stutter incoherently at Cadwallader as she walked out the door.

"Well, now, let's talk for a minute." Septimus took another drink while Scully just glared at him. "If I die, Audie won't have anyone around to keep her out of trouble. I can't leave her alone like t'at. Would you consider marrying her? Just so I can die peacefully?" Out of the corner of his eye, Septimus saw that tall, lanky red haired man looking at them both appearing rather confused. That Ministry dog did not sit well with Septimus for some reason. "I wasn't talking to ya, ya bloody bureaucrat. It'll be a cold day in 'ell before I see my apprentice married to some _damned bureaucrat."_

"Keep this up Septimus and you won't get _either_ of those wishes." Scully ducked under the bar as a wine bottle flew over his head. He cautiously stood back up as Septimus chuckled at Scully's expense.

The door opened and in walked Audrey, who was looking around cautiously at the patrons who were as usual growing drunker with each order. She gave a quick wave to Percy before coming up to Scully at the bar.

Scully looked up at the ceiling in relief, "He tried to marry you off again. To me this time, don't look so horrified, I'm not a bad bloke."

"I know you're not, I'm sorry if he was bothering you."

Scully snickered, "He wasn't bothering anybody with that proposition." A couple of wizards at the end of the bar waved cheekily. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She dragged Septimus out with her cheeks a bright shade of red. The door closed behind them with the twinkling of the bell and off the pair went into the night.

"'Ave I ev'r told you w'at a good girl you are, 'elpin' an old warlock like me 'ome ev'ry evenin'." Septimus smiled drunkenly as he threw an arm over Audrey's shoulders.

This was one of his worse evenings; he was starting to babble and had tried to marry Audrey off again. The occasions of this amount of drunkenness were, from what Audrey knew, rare. Before Audrey began working for him he managed to get himself home all right. Except for a few occasions which nobody seemed to be willing to talk about for some reason or another.

"Ya know summat? Ya remind me of my Kitty."

"I never pictured you as a cat person."

"Naw, I dun like cats much, and don't be a 'mart arse." His smile disappeared slowly, as he tightened his hold on Audrey's shoulders and swung his cane about to try and hit the pebbles on the street. "Ya remind me of 'er a bit."

Audrey looked up at Septimus a wave of confusion crossing her features. "Who is Kitty?"

She never got an answer; he became very quiet and spoke no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we have a couple of names.
> 
> The Department of Mysteries continues to be horrifying and we learn more about some of what Audrey is learning from Septimus. 
> 
> And Septimus is the world's worst wingman.


	11. Silvertongue Acts

_June 25th 1998_

The streets were unusually crowded today. Cappie had managed to stay close to Septimus while he ran a few errands before they made a trip to the wizarding library out in London. Audrey, John, and Lucia were working, and Ellie was asleep. Cappie could not remember the last time he had bothered the old man and had made that his project for the day. If one wanted to be technical, Cappie was trying to keep his tracking skills up to par. Just in case he needed to follow Serena on a short notice without her knowing. Especially if she really was going to kill Sloan in a government building like she said she would. Cappie ducked behind a stall while Septimus haggled with a man over a law book for his suing of the Ministry project.

Cappie found the older man rather strange in his habits. Septimus always seemed to be thinking about something, sometimes he would stare off into space and someone would have to say his name several times before they got his attention. Cappie had asked him about his childhood once, maybe twice, out of boredom and he had grown very quiet before answering, "I'm too old to remember my dull childhood, go annoy Ellie or Tom or something."

Cappie was an observant child. He had noticed that they had a tendency to avoid certain subjects.

Audrey never talked about her parents; she spoke of her grandparents on occasion, but had not delved into that topic too much. _'Handlers'_ were how Lucia referred to her parents when that topic came up. John and Ellie were probably the best adjusted. None of them spoke about what they and his parents did during the war. Cappie wanted answers, and the old man was going to give them. He looked around the stall and found Septimus was missing. He swore loudly catching the attention of a red haired matronly looking woman and a beautiful blonde who started saying something in another language. Cappie darted off into the crowd, which seemed to be forming around a small platform in the middle of the street.

The man standing on the platform sounded like someone that Audrey and Russell had been talking about. Audrey had called him Silvertongue, though she was quick to clarify his real name was Harold Silvern and tell Cappie to stay way from him. The man was shouting about the Ministry's continuing injustices against those who had suffered during the war.

“I ask you now, what has the Ministry of Magic done for you? In the last two months we are still looking for Death Eaters who have escaped justice, the Ministry has accomplished _nothing!”_

Cappie shuddered as the answering cry rose in pitch in a passionate fever. He pulled his knit cap over his ears to try and bloke out the noise some, it was not very successful and it didn't stop Cappie from getting stepped on by the protesters and rally-goers. He wanted to be taller; maybe then he would not be stepped on so much.

“Our interim minister is a pure-blood! Who has not been elected to any sort of position in government before! How do we know he will look out for our interests? Help heal the scars of war or turn his back for the power and comfort of the old system?”

Barely making it out of the crowd with his limbs intact, Cappie felt confident he could find the geezer, until the moment when he tripped over an old woman and collided with his target for the day and Russell Bennett.

_“A system that tried to destroy us!”_

"Your tracking is horrible boy." Another thing Cappie had noticed was that Septimus seemed to go out of his way to be crotchety. He spoke of magic a lot, but Cappie had never seen him draw his wand to use it. Cappie could not wait to get a wand, Lucia had mentioned a spell Audrey had invented for tracking and he was hoping she would teach it to him.

Russell just laughed and pulled Cappie to his feet. "Nice try thought Caps. Reminds me of when Audrey was trying to secure her post with Septimus." Cappie looked up at Russell, this was something that he had heard ghosted over but had never heard the full story. Cappie's hopes for a tale were dashed when Silvern’s speech took the adults attention.

“The Ministry has to much power to appoint unworthy people to positions of leadership! The voices of the people must be heard in order to enact true justice!” Silvertongue was gesturing to the crowd as he spoke, the overall affect was very engaging, it was hard to look away from it.

Septimus looked up at the crowd and said something that pulled Russell and Cappie out of the traces Silvertongue had the crowd under.

"I don't like this, Russell. That man on the platform's trouble waiting to happen." Septimus' eyebrows furrowed together forming something that appeared to Cappie to look something like a large furry caterpillar crawling across his forehead. "And when it does happen, it's going to be nasty."

"Wow, maybe you can take that woman's place as the local seer Septimus. You've got the old and creepy parts down pact." Russell leapt backwards as Septimus smacked him in the shin with his cane. "Ouch!"

Silvertongue seemed to be coming to the end of his speech. “The Ministry has led us astray about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s return two years ago! Why should we give them our trust now when the last time they had it, they tried to murder us!”

There was a glimmer of something in Septimus’ eyes to match a sudden, malicious grin. Russell seemed to notice the look the same time Cappie did, but was too late to stop what would happen next.

“HIS NAME WAS _VOLDEMORT!”_

The reaction from the crowd was instantaneous. A series of screams, startles and the crowd looking about frantically to find the source of the noise as Septimus looked around innocently. 

Russell had put his hands on Cappie’s shoulders, ready to move him away from perceived danger.

Septimus leaned away from the crowd and made eye contact with Russell and Cappie. “C’mon boy, let’s go to the library. I have to pick up something from one of the library assistants.”

Cappie followed like an obedient pup, curious about what the old man needed and to get away from that angry crowd.

* * *

_June 28th 1998_

Audrey was no longer bored. Her boredom had been relived by the rumors of a list about a scheduled list of trials about higher-ups who were involved in the Muggle-born Registration Commission. She intended to find a way to find out when Umbridge was going to trial. Audrey wanted to see that desperately. She could not help but smile at the thought of dementor's swarming around a horrified Umbridge as she gripped that chair in the middle of the court chamber.

Audrey's hands shook as she remembered the trial that marked the end the Relocation Operation completely. The breathless terror, the replying of every horror of her life, both large and small, the continuing stream of thoughts of her own failure playing through her mind. Audrey’s hands stopped shaking as she stood to begin her morning stroll trying to fight off the waves of nausea and overwhelming sadness that marked the day.

Damn dementors, it was a wonder they got out at all.

She still had an hour before work started; she had come early to see if she could find some list with Umbridge's name on it. If there was, Audrey was going to try and get down to the courtroom for that day's trials. It did not matter how long she had to wait, she wanted to see Umbridge get her just desserts. And a front row seat as a court guard would just be a bonus.

The lift opened on the law enforcement floor. There was a low murmur of voices discussing the latest cases and evidence. She looked down and examined her uniform, and adjusted her holster; she did not want to be unnecessarily questioned. She walked quietly towards the security desk in a corner a couple of yards away from the lift. Audrey was not sure why they had one here, this floor held Aurors, Enforcers, Hit Wizards, and other members of law enforcement, but then again, if someone broke into the Ministry intending to cause trouble these dangerous people could be alerted to come down and aid security if needed. Like that atrium riot that had become Walker's sore spot.

The voices rose in pitch and anger and began to intermingle into a mess of numerous conversations. Audrey lost her nerve and walked back into the lift. She was a bit afraid, and she doubted nosing around the law enforcement officials for a rumored schedule would be appreciated. She would come back later when she had more concrete information about where this supposed schedule was located.

An hour later, Audrey had found herself at the front desk with Lucia checking the wands of visitors. They seemed to end up here a lot. But it was relatively quiet so Audrey could not complain too much. After returning a wand to an older man who was dropping off lunch for his wife Audrey waved him off and saw something stranger than usual.

It was a young woman, pale, gaunt, with a haunted look about her. Audrey thought she looked like some of the Muggle-borns who had come out of Azkaban after the war. She probably was. Audrey had seen plenty of them over the past couple of weeks. She was looking around and taking pictures of the Atrium. Everything from the melted statue, fireplaces, and the security desk, maybe she was a reporter or something. She shrugged and returned to her job and the woman disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

_June 29th 1998_

"I will never complain about being hungry ever again," Lucia stated as she propped her feet on the cafeteria table and rested her folded hands on her midsection. "That ham was fantastic. I think there was a hint of pineapple in there, yum…" She grinned widely, "Any opportunity I have to thank the house elves who cook here I will take." Lucia slumped farther down into her seat. "So where is the kitchen?"

Lucia's question was met with silence. With John in the library getting some study time, Felix attempting to win the affections of an emergency healer from Experimental Charms, and Piper sitting with people from her department discussing who knew what, lunch was a relatively quiet affair. Audrey was deeply absorbed in an issue of Wizarding Times, and Percy was working on some kind of paperwork.

Audrey looked up, "Sorry Lu, did you say something?"

Lucia sighed, "Nothing important Aud." She turned her attentions to Percy, "Hey, when's Umbridge's trial?"

Audrey took her eyes off the paper and looked at Percy closely. She wanted that information.

"That's high-profile, and classified until such a time that the Ministry decides if and when to release it." Audrey could describe that sentence in one word: _pompous._

"C'mon, your connections are better than ours," Lucia said loudly, capturing the attention of nearby diners. Audrey nodded in silent agreement.

"What if we want to go and watch her get her soul sucked out, if she even has one?" Audrey added as she closed the magazine and fixed Percy with a cool stare.

"Then you would be out of luck." He focused his gaze on Audrey, "I hope neither of you ever have to see someone get the Dementor's Kiss."

"That's not fair!" Lucia retorted, pointing her pudding spoon at Percy who ducked to the side to avoid getting pudding on his glasses. "We tell you what's going on in our department."

"There's nothing going on in your department!" Percy shot back, "Nothing that you two haven't directly caused."

He wasn't entirely wrong.

Of course, there was Walker, but everyone tried to keep his shenanigans within the department. Also, the unwritten rule of the security department was that Oddball was never to be discussed outside of the security department in any capacity.

Lucia grinned broadly, "That's because we're fun, interesting people. You're just very dull."

Percy's mouth curled into a sardonic smile, "You're not wrong."

There was a very honest look of self-deprecation on Percy's face. Audrey thought he was interesting.

"So," Lucia moved herself closer to Percy in a manner that was smooth like a jungle cat on the hunt. "Any chance of recommending us to guard for the Umbridge trial?"

Audrey followed her lead and they moved in closer from both sides cornering him like a mouse against the wall of the booth. Percy's back became straighter and Audrey noted the stiffening of his shoulders and the cold impassive look beginning to form on his face. It seemed well practiced.

Percy's gaze clouded over and he looked at Audrey specifically, "Neither of you need to work for that trial."

"Why?" Lucia responded, "We're more then capable!"

His voice dropped to a low hissing noise, _"You're both on the witness list!"_

"Oh, well, we're not really needed to speak up." Lucia moved back, an awkward smile on her face as she began to play with her long blonde hair.

Most people acquainted with Lucia would not have noticed the signs of nervousness. Lucia liked to play with her hair and make it look like she was fluffing it the same way she did when she was flirting with people. Audrey passed Lucia a rubber band from her pocket as she began to elaborately braid it back and away from her face. Lucia preferred using her hands to style her hair, unlike some witches who used their wands to achieve a perfect look and style.

"You might be."

"Ominous hint dropping? I think we're wearing him down, Audie."

"Don't call me that, _Lulu."_

“Oh, playing that game, now are we? That’s cold.”

Percy laughed.

* * *

The return to the front desk was quiet and uneventful. It was always quiet after the employees returning from a pleasant home lunch returned to the office. But this was a different kind of silence, a rather foreboding one. Audrey could not shake the heavy feeling that had settled in her stomach.

She looked up as the visitors’ entrance dropped down at the other end of the Atrium and spilled out five people. Then the fireplaces nearby began to spit out more. Audrey took her wand out of its holster. Something was not right about this…

Lucia seemed to sense the same thing Audrey did, Lucia rose to her feet and drew her wand holding it loosely in her hand. It made her look an incompetent duelist, which meant not very threatening. Audrey was half out of her chair and imitating Lucia's loose hold on her wand.

They group spread itself out with a larger group in the middle walking towards the front desk. Audrey felt the air leave her lungs and she forgot about looking incompetent for the surprise advantage she clutched her wand tightly in fear instead. Most of their faces showed hardship and suffering, many looked to Audrey like those picture of the Muggle-borns leaving Azkaban, only a bit more healthy looking though still looking otherworldly and unnatural from their suffering.

A young man with a rather sunken face was the first to arrive at the desk. "Don't say anything," he said, voice low and gravelly. "Just give me your wands and we will let you go unharmed."

Lucia and Audrey exchanged a look that said everything that was needed.

Lucia moved her wand towards the desk, as if she was going to comply while her other hand moved up to her chest as if to try and calm an erratic heartbeat. Her voice was small and helpless sounding. “Please don’t hurt us.”

“We’re just here for the money,” Audrey tried to squeak pitifully but it came out tired and cynical instead. She was rusty. “We couldn’t care _less_ about the Ministry or their politics.”

The man looked like he had struck gold. Audrey thought he was as dumb as he looked.

“That’s fine. We’ll pay you some to step aside and let us into the Ministry.”

Audrey leaned forward with interest. “How much?”

“Forty galleons apiece.”

Audrey nodded thoughtfully, a plan forming in her mind that would make Septimus proud. “That would be an agreeable sum if it was not half of what we made in a week.”

“Eighty then,” the man countered. One of his smarter companions seemed to want to say something, but stopped as the man held up his hand, a subtle gesture to let him handle it.

“Deal!” Audrey held out her hand and a bag of galleons was placed in her palm. Lucia reached out and took her own bag with shaking hands, still playing the terrified woman card. “Give us a minute and we’ll drop the barrier for you.”

Fools and their money were so easily parted.

Audrey quickly turned her wand on one of the chairs behind her, flinging it over the desk, and breaking the chair over the head at the man who had just handed them each eighty galleons.

Lucia cast a fire spell at the crowd around the desk, causing them to scatter or dodge the spell. Many shouted and screamed in surprise, this catching the attention of their allies who were spread out around the Atrium. Lucia pulled Audrey down by the back of her robes to get behind the desk and began the incantation for what Dawson called the Panic Spell, trying to summon some other guards to come and help them out. It would take a few minutes for help to arrive. While Lucia did that, Audrey set up a quick protection spell as the invaders began to destroy the Atrium and tried to climb over the desk to grab at her and Lucia only to be met with Audrey's knock-back shield to throw them across the atrium and back into the fray.

Lucia put the money she had received in a magically expanded pocket on her robes, “I can’t believe you pulled that off!”

Audrey shrugged as she slipped her own bag into her pocket, “He was ready to hand it over! I just got us more!”

"Well, maybe we'll still get some kind of reward to top it off!" Lucia said as she peered over the desk and made a rude gesture at a particularly persistent desk climber.

“Yeah right,” Audrey looked over the desk as well and noticed a couple of rioters blowing up fireplaces.

She looked for someone who appeared to be in charge. This was to clean and organized to be completely random and somewhat planned. Everyone seemed to have a place and knew where to be. The person in charge would be right in the middle to observe his work closely, or at the end to watch it all at once. No sign of anybody who seemed to be giving orders.

Sudden sounds of yelling turned Audrey's attention to the lifts where guards and a few other law enforcement officers were pouring out and into the atrium. Lucia and Audrey dropped their protection charm and joined the chaos. Lucia had charmed the front desk to charge down the rioters. The desk began to run into groups of them and successfully ran a few down in the process.

Audrey levitated the other chair from where the security desk originally sat and dropped in onto a couple of rioters who were trying to curse Lucia from behind.

They both were being quickly backed against the wall; there were not a lot of guards on this side of atrium yet. They had to work their way over to them through the crowd. Audrey was pretty tempted to help some of the rioters up to the upper floors where they could do some real damage, but she would not be able to help rebuild the shop from prison; she suppressed a shudder at the thought, why was she thinking about Azkaban so much? She never made it that far, being kept in the holding cells of the Ministry when she was arrested.

She hit the wizard she was dueling with a hex that made leaves sprout from his ears, before tossing him into the Fountain of Magical Brethren with another hex. Lucia floored her opponent and laughed as Audrey's opponent dragged himself out of the fountain with a confused looking scowl, his shaggy hair was covering most of his face.

Audrey looked over at the lifts to find a couple of rookie Aurors running out into the fray. Audrey observed one get hit by a stinging hex before being kicked and beaten by the rioters' bare hands. That looked painful. The other one seemed to have a better grasp of dueling then his partner as he was defending an injured guard.

 _"Gah!"_ Audrey looked back to find Lucia in a rather tight headlock, her wand lying on the ground next to her foot.

Audrey ran forward, wand at the ready position, until she felt a rather large hand covering her mouth and was lifted off the floor. Audrey's scream was muffled. She managed to uncover her mouth and bite his hand, _hard._ The man yelped, but did not release his hold; Audrey bit down harder drawing blood and with a muffled scream began ramming her elbow into his ribs and thrashing her head back into his face or chin, whatever she was hitting.

The man's grip loosened suddenly and Audrey managed to break free as the man held his wounded hand tightly, cursing loudly. Audrey did not bother to pick up her wand to hex him; she punched him in the nose. The crunching sound and the howl of pain that followed were far more satisfying. As he hit the ground Audrey picked her wand up off the floor and stunned the man restraining Lucia. She turned her wand back on the man who was bleeding on the floor from a broken nose and spat on the floor in disgust at the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

He looked up and reeled backwards and sat back on the floor, "Audrey Causey?"

Audrey paused and wiped her mouth on her sleeve as she looked at the man closely, her eyes widened in shock as she recognized the mop of curly hair and crooked mouth underneath the blood from his busted nose. "Dickens?"

The man performed a healing spell on his nose, and looked up at Audrey in awe. "Everyone says you were killed, I never pictured you as government dog."

' _Agrippa's knickers!'_

Dickens was unusually dim for a former Ravenclaw student, just a couple of years older then Audrey, she remembered him as the head of the trivia society until he graduated. Nice boy, but that was what he liked to use his knowledge for, collecting obscure information.

"Obviously I'm not dead, and working for people you hate pays pretty well." Audrey retorted drily as she pointed her wand away from Dickens while still remaining on high alert. She did not have to worry too much; the worst part of the riot was winding down. Many of the rioters had been subdued. Still, Audrey was taking no chances.

Dickens leapt to his feet excitedly.

"I thought it was you under that coat! You pulled me and a bunch of other Muggle-borns out of a transport cart to Azkaban, I was sure it was you under that coat, but I wasn’t sure.”

Ah, the trench coat. It was in Audrey’s locker right now, she had been fixing some of the defensive charms on it that had worn down during the war when she had a few moments.

“Some of the other Muggle-borns are saying the Relocation never existed. Others say you all were dead and are hailing you as a hero of the Muggle-born community!”

' _Oh, hell!'_

Dickens had leapt to his feet, his hands hovering in the air awkwardly as it he wanted to reach out and touch Audrey to make sure she was real. “Especially after the attack on Haven! They say that's where you were killed. Others have heard said that you were seen at the Battle for Hogwarts, most people think that is a rumor because they think you killed in the Haven raid." Dickens was babbling and beginning to repeat himself.

Lucia was laughing of all things.

“You should come to the Reformation meetings, we could use someone like you to bring some real change! A real warrior!”

The urge to disappear into the floor was very strong.

“I’m sorry, Dickens. I think you have me confused with someone else. I reconnected with my father and he put me up during the war. It was mere chance I was never brought up on charges.”

Dickens did not seem convinced.

“Besides, the rumors I heard indicated your savior was a young man if such a person even existed.”

There was a shadow of doubt in Dickens expression. Audrey was sure she had got him, or at least planted enough doubt to live her life quietly.

“I see… I’ll have to continue my investigation, but my offer on the Reformation’s behalf has not changed.” 

The rioters were soon quelled and collared, junior Aurors eventually came to escort Dickens out of Audrey and Lucia’s care for processing. Dickens continued to talk, seeming to not notice the Aurors as he continued to advertise the benefits of the Reformation for talented young Muggle-borns.

Those who were injured were taken to St. Mungo's.

* * *

"And that was my day." Audrey said as placed her bribery money on the countertop, before folding her hands like the picture of innocence as she looked at Septimus who looked to be slightly confused at the bag of money. "That’s for the rebuilding fund by the way. How was your day?"

"It was fine, I got a job." Septimus said as he washed dishes on the other side of the Leaky Cauldron's bar.

"They let an alcoholic like you hand out drinks," Audrey commented drily.

Septimus scowled, "I don't have a problem, and I'm washing dishes. Which is a horrible waste of my talents, I assure you." Audrey laughed as Septimus began vigorously scrubbing the glass he was holding. "I'm picking up the slack here for a couple of weeks until Tom is sure that Hannah can work by herself so he can take a vacation. Surprising amount of spell control for this job.”

Audrey let her thoughts wander idly. Septimus tapped her shoulder a couple of moments later. Audrey looked up at him.

"Lucia told me about Dickens, and I can see where the legend thing came about."

"How? I was following you orders-"

"With my leg, I couldn't run half those missions. I sent you in my place. To many of those people, you were the first bit of hope they saw. This can also be seen as Muggle-borns looking for something," he focused on Audrey in a way that made her feel scrutinized and slightly embarrassed, "something that reminds them that they had support outside the Ministry who tried to save as many as they could, someone those who came through Haven could relate to. A person who did not have the blood status that the Garlands, Odell, Lucia, and myself have."

Audrey blinked, "John's a Muggle-born. He was pretty upfront about it."

Septimus chuckled, "Yes, but John worked for the Ministry, and he's a bit of a pacifist. John was more useful taking care of the injured that showed up and going to town for supplies. You left the muggle world a bit early and I needed someone who could blend in easily with both communities. Besides," Septimus smiled, "John's been singing Ellie's praises every chance he got and by the end of our adventure he began writing terrible love poems. That's not really a hallmark for a major community leader or old style romantic hero."

Audrey snickered she never heard that bit, knowing John his love poetry was going to be incredibly perverse and sugar sweet.

"And," Septimus continued with a slight drawl, "who doesn't like the idea of a kind of lone Muggle-born witch in charge of the Relocation Operation? It keeps their hopes alive, Audrey. Hope is the force that keeps people moving."

"Yeah," Audrey mumbled quietly.

He put the glass aside and leaned over the counter closer to Audrey, his gaze quite serious. "You're going to be someone. I don’t care if you want to live life forgetting who you were in a time when this world needed people to believe in. I just want to see you in a position to do those great things that I know you are going to do and I want people to see that person when you are ready."

Audrey blushed.

“I know it all seems like too much, the world is in pieces and it is not going to get any better, but it will.” Septimus chuckled, and adjusted his glasses. “This was my third war. So trust me when I say everything is chaos until all the bad people are dead, in prison and proper social revolution moves society forward in good ways.”

“So you think the Reformation has a point?”

There was a moment of silence from Septimus. “Yes and no. I think the Muggle-borns have been made a scapegoat in the magical community for centuries, and they have legitimate grievances with the Ministry and a society that allowed that to continue into the modern age.” Septimus picked up another glass for polishing as his eyebrows knit together in thought. “I’m a pureblood, I reaped benefit from that system but…” He trailed off trying to find the right words.

For a man of such aggressive confidence, Audrey found it quite strange.

“Silvern is not the person to bring that change for the community he so righteously serves. He’s too angry; he’s inflexible of thought and wants revenge to badly. He wants the purebloods to hurt as they have hurt Muggle-borns during this war, and even then I think that is a simplistic way of summarizing what he wants to accomplish. I think that after what you have told me, there’s more to Silvern under the surface.”

Audrey nodded, Harold Silvern was dangerous and well on his way to political power depending on how the next few months went. 

Audrey felt her mind wander to thoughts of a more chaotic time as Septimus returned to washing glasses for the evening visitors. The intelligence from the Garlands about a transport they could hit full of Muggle-borns bound for Azkaban. The careful ambushing of these wagons to free the innocent from the despair of the dementors, Nolan was so quick to kill the escort teams. He and Audrey had fought about it often, she wanted to wipe their memories Nolan said it was too risky as memories could be reclaimed. After meeting Dickens today, Audrey was starting to understand the point. Maybe she should have wiped his memories when she had the chance, at least of that day. Dickens would have noticed a day of his life missing though. Perhaps rewritten them…

_What are those things going to be? How do I want to be remembered? What will be my legacy?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Septimus is old, wise and kind of an ass. Audrey has learned a lot from him. 
> 
> The Muggle-borns are trying to find a way forward to solidify their place in the magical world for good. I imagine Ministry corruption was rampant and ran far deeper then canon implied, the wrong surname or a liking for muggle curiosities would keep anyone out of a high ranking, or at least respectable position. Muggle-borns who get ahead are good at making connections or are exceptionally gifted magically.


	12. Plots, Homes and Stalls

_July 1st 1998_

"I'm telling you to tell John that I am not his oven!" Audrey leaned away from Ellie as she continued her rant. "The man leaves me pregnant during a war with the entire Alley under siege, and he comes back ten months later. He left me with an accident, a happy accident, but John's going to have to wait to talk to me about siblings until I've had a couple years worth of a full night's sleep." She tickled Junior's belly affectionately. "You will be waiting on that little sister."

Audrey propped her feet on the table where Ellie was selling her baked goods at an abandoned stand from before the war, she had made it her personal project to turn this small stand into a temporary business stand. Ellie was successful in this regard, most of her business returned with a smile, kind words, and to tickle Junior's chin. Maybe the baby was part of the reason Ellie's customers spread the word so quickly about her return to business. Junior was adorable after all.

"I can't believe you want more. Junior's cute Ellie, but you want to go through the nappies and late nights again after just finishing with the first one." Audrey was an only child who never had the opportunity for a sibling. Maybe this clouded her judgment on the subject, Audrey had never really thought about marriage and children. Not much of an opportunity over the past couple of years. "I think you're nuts."

Ellie stuck her tongue out playfully, "I'm an only child too, Aud. Weren't you lonely as a kid?"

"A bit. Grandmum and Grandda were to up in years to play with me, they taught me stuff mostly. Grandda taught me how to hotwire a car."

"And that's why I want more than one," Ellie smiled, "So that you and Lucia can't focus all of your corruption on my one child."

Something caught Audrey's attention. Just across the street next to a fruit stand was Percy Weasley with Felix Flanders who was talking loudly about some pictures he had taken for a class for a portfolio he was calling _The Office_. Felix seemed to be rather evasive about what the pictures were of. The two women stood and leaned over the counter to hear better. Audrey saw a sight that made the corners of her mouth turn up in amusement. Serena Scoresby was walking casually behind the two men appearing to be distracted by the bright fruit on sale, but her body looked very tense and ready for something as she surveyed the larger crowd and settled her attentions on a woman who was talking down to a young woman running a nearby stall.

Audrey tapped Ellie’s hand and gestured towards the girl.

Ellie shook her head in disbelief as she noticed the girl. "You know, Serena was a pretty sweet kid before the war. Her mother kept her in line; Selene was the only parent she had.” Ellie paused thoughtfully. “I liked her quite a bit.”

Audrey nodded in agreement with a soft reflective smile, “Selene gave me a some food when first got to Diagon Alley, offered to make me a deal when I published my first magical research essay. She was always really nice to me, she liked to talk about plant repotting.”

“I left after the Death Eaters began to make their executions public…” Ellie took a deep breath and clutched her child tighter to her chest. “Selene was the first to go, which set a lot of people off… especially considering those kids she had taken in saw her head blown off."

“What?” Audrey stopped smiling and looked at Ellie in horror, her hands slamming onto the table and shaking the goods. She had not heard this story. Nobody had seemed willing to talk about Selene when she asked about her and her daughter upon her return home. "What did Selene do?"

"You remember, she was a freelance publisher for various news outlets. She had started publishing pamphlets against the Ministry, raising moral for the oppressed and all that, recording every atrocity, every death that reached her ears before the Death Eaters took over.” Ellie bit her lower lip, lost in remembered tales of wartime atrocities. “After the take over, Selene was recording the names of the dead that the government was not acknowledging and distributing it to resistance channels. I think that was the reason she was…” Ellie trailed off. “There was a woman that was burned alive after Selene was killed, she was the second to die; she's haunting the Alley now.”

Audrey was struggling to breath; she had seen her on some of her previous patrols. A clearly irate spirit who was bathed in grey smoke and barely visible through it, all of the hallmarks of a very upset spirit that a professional would have to come out and deal with at some point.

Serena had stayed out of the woman’s sight as she had put her purse down. The girl seemed perfectly at ease with taking care of her stupidity to quickly snatch it away and disappear into the larger crowd. Audrey was going to let Serena get greedy, perhaps weigh herself down with a little too much and start tracking her when she was out of the crowd. 

“I left for the states a couple of months after Selene's murder, I was about five months into my pregnancy and I went to stay with my parents. I was married to a Muggle-born, I was afraid I'd be next." Ellie shivered, holding Junior a little tighter. "I was scared. I was not just my life I would be risking to speak up."

This made Audrey more disturbed, what was being done for these displaced kids like Serena Scoresby? Were they getting the help they needed? Audrey rolled her eyes; bureaucrats in the Ministry were probably still debating it.

The snooty witch let out a screech as she realized her purse was gone. Ellie sighed and sat back down, "Are you going to help them or not?"

"Why do I have to help them?"

Ellie rolled her eyes, “You help people. It’s what you do.”

Audrey had never felt helping people was something she was particularly good at, but compliments were always nice.

They both stopped talking as Audrey saw Serena bump into Percy; Serena looked up and muttered an apology, as he turned away with a . Audrey noticed Serena tuck something shiny in her pocket before turning around and walking back up the street.

"Hey, did that kid just snitch your pocket watch?"

Audrey saw the skinny girl try and disappear into the crowd. Unfortunately, Serena couldn't quite manage this. Percy reached out and had placed his hand on her shoulder stopping the girl dead in her tracks. He held his hand out as a crowd slowed down to watch what was happening.

"Could I have my watch back?"

"Weatherby, that isn't going to work you know."

"Don't call me that."

The shorter man just grinned, and said something in Gaelic.

Percy paled as his friend finished speaking. Audrey leaned over the counter for a better look. Serena saw an opportunity as he took his eye off of her she twisted away shouting _"STRANGER DANGER!"_ and kicked him.

Every man who was watching the scene cringed in sympathy. Audrey just doubled over laughing; she was laughing too hard to go after the girl as she took off with the pocket watch and the purse leaving Percy doubled over in pain in the middle of the street.

Talented girl.

Ellie rolled her eyes and fixed Audrey with a very maternal glare that made Audrey feel guilty for things in her life that she had not yet done. Audrey’s laughter subsided quickly.

"Would you like to come, Ellie?"

"As much as I'd like to, I like earning money more." Ellie smiled, "Besides, I can't ask John to watch Junior; he's studying for the Healers exam, and I can only imagine the places were Serena's spending her time." Ellie shuddered. "Have fun Audie, if I see Cappie I'll get him into advertising for my new location again seeing as I lack your sense of adventure."

Audrey smiled, "See you Ellie!" She stepped out of the stand and kept her eyes on the crowd where Serena had disappeared. Audrey tiptoed through the crowd and tapped Felix on the shoulder. "Hello Felix, is he okay?"

"Does he look okay, Audrey?" Felix responded as he shook his head with a grimace as Percy started to move back into an upright position. "That was underhanded."

"Pretty below the belt actually," Audrey retorted as she made a mental note to stop listening to Lucia's dirty remarks. It was starting to rub off on her.

Percy gave her a nasty glare. No respect for the art of the pun.

"I'm pretty sure Serena took your watch, you want it back? I'm pretty sure I know where she hangs out."

Truthfully, it was more of an educated guess.

"Forget her hangouts, where are her parents? It time someone told them how their daughter spends her free time. Pick pocketing, that's disgusting." Percy grumbled as the crowd began to disperse. "Have their address?"

Audrey blinked, "It's that burned out shop back there."

Felix winced.

"Now, do you want to come or not?"

* * *

Audrey had to laugh at the look on Percy's face as she pointed down the turn into Knockturn Alley. He looked thoroughly horrified and glanced over his shoulder as if looking for someone to stop them from doing something stupid. Percy shook his head and adjusted the collar of his robes. Audrey had no such reputation to uphold, but she still pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. Septimus had done a few black market dealings with Audrey along in case he needed to send her to pick up something for an experiment she would know where to go and who to look for. Not everybody down here would be so kind to a lost apprentice researcher. Her first solo trip down here to pick up a package nearly put her morgue, and that was her first week of employment.

It was dark, creepy, and the perfect place to hide if one did not want to be found. Serena was getting very good at her livelihood, Audrey had not heard a thing about her in the pubs for almost two weeks. She seemed to be getting a little subtler. Today she was just unlucky as most of the time, people never suspected a cute little girl capable of theft.

Serena and Cappie were friends, Audrey knew that much. She had no idea how close they were Audrey thought they must have gotten to know each other during the war. Adamina and Martin had stated once that they wished their son had more kids his age to play with nearby, and they also mentioned that all of their friends had older children then Cappie. He must have been a bit lonely.

"Why did Felix stay behind?" Audrey asked as she examined some of the shop signs trying to remember the way she had followed Serena previously into the back alleyway to try and pick up a trail. That stall was not there last time. "Not very adventurous or something?"

Percy shrugged, "He said something about developing some film for his photography class. He's been meaning to go in and take care of it for a couple of weeks but he got bogged down with paperwork."

"Oh," Audrey was not sure she wanted to know what Felix found to take pictures of. She curbed her curiosity to another topic. "You look uncomfortable."

"Aren't you?"

Audrey looked up thoughtfully; going into Knockturn alone was far scarier than going in with someone to watch your back. It was still creepy with other people there but one had a better chance of coming back out with everything you came in with in groups. Audrey was sent down for potion ingredients the local place didn't sell and walked in on some kind of deal. Septimus was with her and managed to keep them out of too much trouble. Being friendly with the owner was a bonus.

"No, not really." Audrey glanced at a couple of familiar looking shop signs from the time she followed Serena to her hideout. They looked familiar enough to start with. The way there was full of twists and turns and Audrey thought that she could remember the way. The backs of the shops had faded signs from the days when shady dealings were more common. She tapped the walls with her wand a couple of times, trying to read for magical traces left behind a scared child. Audrey cast her tracking spell and the alleyway lit up along some of the cobblestones before doubling back to another direction further down the street that would be more comfortable for a pair of adults.

"Right this way."

"Are you sure about that? Last time I followed you somewhere I almost got eaten by a plant." It was silent for a moment, "What kid is going to hide back here?"

Audrey was starting to think Percy wasn't very street smart. He also seemed to be one of those people who saw the glass half empty. That sounded like someone she knew… She just could not put a finger on it.

"A kid who knows that the odds of someone coming back this way are slim. From what I've seen, Serena's pretty smart."

There was an irritated sound from behind Audrey.

"Intelligence isn't just measured by test grades. I've met people who had high scores but were just so stupid about other things that I could hardly talk with them. I've also met other people who were in possession of a lot of common sense and also were very bright. It's a balance." Audrey remembered her grandfather being that way. He leaned more on common sense then the higher pursuits at the university level that Audrey found so fascinating. He was smart; he just reasoned that most people did not discuss a lot of the things taught at a university on a normal day.

Percy was silent; Audrey took that as she had made her point and won a disagreement. That was rare enough for Audrey to grin widely; arguing with Septimus was too exhausting for her to pursue her point at length, so those days when she won an argument against other people just made her day that much brighter.

Audrey’s tracking spell faded out. Serena was out of range. Unfortunately this was a spell of Audrey’s own invention and there were still a few kinks to work out. Oh well, might as well have a look around.

Her footsteps became softer as they came closer to Serena's suspected home. It was still as rundown as Audrey remembered from her last visit. It was an old building presumable from the days when the black market was at its peak during the time of World War I and II. The dates corresponding with the Wizarding Wars of the time, Audrey suddenly felt the need to look more deeply into those conflicts. Maybe it would be easier to read about other conflicts then think about the most recent one.

Or make her nightmares worse; probably best to forget that idea.

The building was sturdy looking, it was a stone building whose walls were still standing but a ladder to the roof appeared to be in questionable condition, missing several rungs on the bottom. She would check out the ladder later, she crept quietly to the window and peered inside finding it a little cleaner than expected. It looked lived in, and also looked a bit like any normal ten-year-old girl's room. Sort of; Audrey expected a little more color from other children. The money Serena was taking must not have been going to renovations.

Audrey walked away from the window and gave the ladder a couple of gentle tugs causing it to clamor loudly against the stone. She raised an eyebrow; it might be able to hold her weight, which meant Serena would have no problems going up if the need arose.

Reaching up and grabbing the highest rung she was able, the soles of Audrey's boots scrapping against the wall as she pulled herself up onto the ladder.

“Is that a good idea, Audrey?” Percy’s tone was rather exasperated.

“Probably not, but I’m gonna do it anyway.”

Percy made a huffy, sarcastic noise. “I could have levitated you onto the roof if you had asked.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“The fun of not cracking your head open when you fall.”

 _“If_ I fall,” Audrey corrected airily as she finally got a foot on the lowest rung.

“I’ll do my best to catch you.”

Audrey flushed and started climbing quickly up the ladder.

Curiosity was one of the reasons she ended up in Ravenclaw according to the Sorting Hat; she was hatstall for at her sorting, taking a full five minutes for the Sorting Hat to decide, she was almost put into Gryffindor for shear recklessness.

Audrey reached the roof while Percy began looking around the outside of the building.

The roof was very quiet, peaceful, and very clean. There was a lounge chair sitting under a sheet that a pair of nails that were sticking out of the small shack next to it. A few books shoved under the chair suggested that Serena liked to come up here and read. Audrey knelt down and read some of the titles on the spine. _A History of Weaponry, Weapon Concealment for the Paranoid,_ (Audrey made a note to find a copy of that), _How to be Prepared for the Unexpected, Spying for Gits, Basic Anatomy for Children,_ and _Harriet Pottmaker and the Sacred Stone._ Audrey smiled at the girl's strange taste in reading materials; she always suspected that Serena was bright. The thought that she was trying to better herself made Audrey smile wider. It faded when she remembered that Serena was a thief and possibly also using these materials to become better at her craft.

Audrey pulled a piece of parchment out of one of the books and a self-inking quill from her pocket.

_Serena,_

_When you’re tired of playing cat and mouse, come to the Leaky Cauldron. We’ll give you some food and a place to stay until you start Hogwarts in September. Ask for Septimus Lowell or me, I’m sure Cappie would love to see you too._

_Best regards,_

_Audrey Causey_

Audrey put the note and a couple of galleons inside of the book at the top of the pile before standing and walking over to the door of the shack that was hanging off its hinges and peered inside finding it empty of all forms of life. Except for spiders. There were a lot of spiders.

Turning back around to go back to the ladder and head back down to the street Audrey was sure Serena had not come straight back to her home. She made sure her foot was securely on the rung before beginning her decent. Though she slipped on bottom rung and lost her grip and collided with Percy who managed to stop her from falling over.

"Are you alright?"

Audrey nodded slowly, feeling suddenly rather awkward at how close they were. Her stomach dropped into her feet. "Yes, I'm fine." He let got of her arms. "I hate to say that if Serena's not here, I have no idea where she is going to be. She'll probably be back later after she sells everything." Audrey paused as she realized that was probably what Serena was doing. " Um...I'll tell Russell to tell Cadwallader to send someone down to start looking for her, maybe Cadwallader could find a place for her to stay long term."

"It's alright, it's just a pocket watch. If I get it back, that would be great. If I don't then I'll live. You're standing on my foot by the way."

"Oh, sorry." Audrey removed her foot and stepped back. "Sure you don't want to wait her out or anything?"

“Pretty sure, I think she needs it more.”

Audrey nodded, less in agreement at his assessment and more in a manner that indicated distraction. As they left the old house behind, slipping through tight back alleys and past a series of sketchy people offering the sales of various rare, possibly illegal potion products

Audrey paused for a moment as Diagon Alley came into view, "Percy.”

Percy dropped his pace to walk next to Audrey, despite how crowded the street was getting as they came closer to Diagon Alley.

“Why is it that children like Serena can't get help? How can a child slip through the cracks like that?"

Percy’s shoulders looked like he was carrying the weight of the world upon them. Almost like he took personally every failure of the fast several months. "Minister Shacklebolt has been trying to get support and obtain funding for improvements and expansions to the children's homes that have been filled after the war ended. Quite a few officials are unwilling to part with a few sickles off their paychecks. And," Percy chuckled drily, "Businesses are as stingy with their money as goblins are."

Audrey smiled; maybe he was not a completely heartless bureaucrat.

“A lot of that would fix itself when Hogwarts reopens, at least temporarily. Kingsley is trying to get a fostering program together but finding people who are willing and able to take on siblings or even one child is difficult.”

How long would that take? Hogwarts had been so badly damaged at the final battle.

“What about adoption?”

They stepped out into Diagon Alley and it seemed so much brighter then Knockturn Alley ever did.

“Shirley and I have been talking to some of the children’s homes where that’s an option. The truth is that it’s harder to find people who want to take older children. Plus, there are background checks on the potential families and those can take time unless you know someone who can speed up the process.”

“I see.” Audrey filed that information away, Septimus would be the better choice to file for Cappie, and she had better bring him the paperwork to do so when she got the chance.

In regards to Serena… Tony Palmer’s mother had long lamented never having a daughter. It might be worth the bad tea and her tendency to overfeed to discuss that option with Mrs. Palmer once they had found the girl.

* * *

"Milady, I believe we can now safely come to the conclusion that the book will not be opened by our work."

"I've been thinking the same thing," The woman said calmly seeming to accept the information as something unsurprising. "Perhaps we should start thinking of another way, two months is quite long enough to judge whether or not we could open the book on our own without the aid of the spell. And my attempts to find the information in the Ministry Archives on this particular item have yielded no fruit. My efforts to go into the Department of Mysteries to search their books of myths, legends, and dark artifacts have been thwarted on each occasion, apparently my clearance will not let me go down there." She looked back at the masked man. "I think we may need another plan."

The man in the golden mask propped his chin on his fist as he began to think. A few minutes passed before he spoke. "Perhaps we need to return to the source, Septimus Lowell."

The woman looked closely at Amon as he continued to speak, his voice muffled behind the mask.

"Lowell had this item for sale in his shop, Merlin knows why, and I doubt he would be selling it if he really had an idea what it was. But I wouldn't put a thing past him, he is very hard to predict and very short on money from what I have heard. There are few things that I am absolutely positive of that we can use against him, the first being he is an alcoholic. My first plan involves putting Lowell in a room for a few weeks and wait for him to dry out. That should take less than a week if done correctly." The man in the mask joked as he reached for his own bottle of wine and an empty glass that he quickly filled.

The woman shook her head, "For an old man, he would be too difficult to catch. He is always around other people and I doubt retirement from the Aurors for all of these years would have slowed his either his wits or wand work. It's far too risky, one failed attempt and the old man will be very prepared the next time."

"Agreed, his inner circle is well trained in combat. Now, the second point is that one of the few people who he would trust with any kind of information would be his apprentice."

"What about his niece?"

"They have only known about each other for a year, and I am not entirely sure where their relationship stands. Lowell treats Causey like a mixture of assistant and his own daughter. I wonder if there's another reason he keeps her around…"

The woman tilted her head slightly, "You think she is a secret-keeper don't you?"

"Perhaps, or bound by something more sinister. It's an idea we can use," he paused and took a sip of wine. "Septimus Lowell has worked very hard to keep her alive, I'm quite sure he wants to keep her that way."

The woman's eyes hardened, "I'm sure he does too. We will bring her with us as soon as we can." The woman stood up so she could look at a nearby bookshelf. "I'm sure she knows many things, though I'd prefer a dead, know-nothing apprentice to an enraged master with no reason to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Serena lives long enough to get to Hogwarts, she's going to Slytherin. Cappie would be her most devoted, Hufflepuff sidekick. 
> 
> War orphans happen after conflict. This is me filling in a canon gap about how the wizarding world would handle such an event. A society that has a lot of focus on the family name and bloodstatus adds to the incentive to adopt young children, who would be more amicable to changing their names. Older children usually go away to school, and might not really connect with the families who take them in and would be more insistent on keeping their own identities. It puts another layer on a adoption statistics of people being reluctant to take in teens and older children.


	13. The Last Patrol

_July 2nd 1998_

"I am sure you are all wondering about any possible bonuses you will be receiving for assisting in the breaking up of that riot down in the Atrium a couple of days ago." The well-dressed man said as he paced back and forth in front of the meeting chamber where the security guards had been summoned. The response was a series of loud cheers from every guard, as they thumped each other on the back and clapped their hands. Bonuses were wonderful things.

"You bet Mister Butler," Walker stood and yelled from his seat at the back table. "How much are we getting?"

"Walker, sit!" Dawson shouted from the front of the room. Walker sat down hard. There was laughter from around the room.

The well-dressed man at the front of the room wiped his brow as he looked at the group of men and women in front of him. If one judged by his attire they could say that he was a high-ranking, well-paid official. By his weary demeanor, one could guess that he did not associate with the people this far down on the Ministry food chain. Those who openly made dirty jokes, hung around the pubs until closing and complained about the higher-ups on a regular basis. They must have been rather intimidating to the very prim Mister Butler.

Butler began to speak again, "Yes," he dabbed his sweaty brow with his handkerchief. "I will get right to the point. We wish to thank you for your actions during the incident from the bottom of our hearts, but due to shortages in our funding for bonuses for jobs done so well by a full department, you will not be compensated for your acts-" The rest of Butler's speech was drowned out by roars from the captive audience.

"What about the security reward you promised last month?" Walker shouted over the loud shouts of his fellows. "What happens with that?"

"QUIET!" Dawson shouted turning to face his employees. Silence overtook the room. Dawson hardly gave orders, but when he did his guards listened.

Butler began dabbing his neck with his handkerchief, "That is in another section of funding with specific terms to match its presentation to the ones who earn it. Also none of those rioters qualified as dark wizards of any sort." There was a loud booing from the guards. "I wish for you all to have a pleasant day." Butler walked out of the room as quickly as he could without breaking into a run. The glares in the eyes of the security guards following him out.

Audrey had a feeling it was going to go something like that, especially after that talk with Percy yesterday. None of her associates did though, and that just set them off on a political rant. Lucia rested her forehead on the table and went to sleep as Walker came over to find some people to talk with. Oddball followed, looking a bit confused and disappointed about how things had gone.

"Can you believe this?" Walker asked as he pulled out the chair next to Audrey and sat down arms crossed in front of his chest. "We get roughed up for the bloody Ministry hoping for a payday and we get nothing." He exhaled loudly. "It's perfectly-"

"Believable," Audrey interrupted, "Like he said, there is no money. The Minister, I've heard, is trying to get as much money as he can by getting donations from still standing corporations, and shaving a few sickles off of the stiffs upstairs. The stiffs don't want to lose their standard of living, so obviously he's having trouble trying to get support for his ideas."

Walker opened his mouth and Audrey finished speaking quickly.

"He wants more children's homes and support for people whose lives were destroyed during the war."

Walker closed his mouth.

"Aud's got a point Walker," Oddball said as he twiddled his thumbs and leaned on the table. "It might be a good idea to listen to her too; she might be the most educated person in our department."

The table was silent; no one had heard Oddball speak in a little over a week. Oddball then stood and pretended to be trapped in an invisible box.

* * *

The rest of Audrey's day past in a dull blur of the typical, dull, and predictable Ministry desk sitting, she missed the shop a little more every day. Upon returning to the Leaky Cauldron that evening, she found she found herself standing outside of Celeste Cadwallader's room in the Leaky Cauldron. They were practically neighbors, but they did not talk much. As one could imagine, standing outside of her room was rather awkward. It felt like spying.

Audrey rapped her knuckles against the wood door and stepped back at the resounding shout from the other side. "Door's open, Hannah!" Audrey cracked the door open.

"Cadwallader? It's Causey," Cadwallader looked up from the book she was reading, her long chestnut hair out of its usual bun and hiding most of her face from Audrey's view as she stepped into the room. "I was wondering how you're doing with Serena?"

Celeste Cadwallader placed her book next to her with a grimace and began to put her hair back up. She bit her lower lip for a brief moment, and Audrey realized just how young Cadwallader was. "She moved. That little old shop you described is empty, no sign of her. She might have seen you two nosing around and decided to leave." Cadwallader stood, "I'm very sorry, I checked the place out myself and all I found were spiders." She stiffened at that admission. "I have no idea where she would go now but mark my words; we will find Serena. I will tell Bennett and Scully to spread the word that if Serena Scoresby is sighted she is to be captured immediately for her own protection. I can't play nice with a girl who has no instinct for self preservation with Darnell Lux and his friends rising back up to power in the criminal underworld."

Audrey nearly slammed the door behind her, "D-Darnell Lux? He's back…"

"Not quite yet, Causey. My sources on the inside have said that the guild is slowly putting itself back together, we have time to catch Miss Scoresby, don't worry, but I'm preparing for the worst in case they decide to pick up the pace.” Cadwallader raised an eyebrow. “What has you so worried?"

"I've… I've heard things about Lux, that's all." Audrey said quietly, Darnell Lux, she would not forget him in a hurry.

"None of them good, I trust?" Cadwallader asked with a look that from the stoical woman was the equivalent of a smile.

"Not at all. Thank you for telling me that."

Audrey suddenly felt kind of bad; it was known that the information that the patrol gave Cadwallader was half lies and truth. Nobody really appreciated the Ministry's interference in Diagon Alley's affairs these days, especially after the Diagon Enforcers went to the other side during the war and overlooked many heinous crimes. People liked Cadwallader, just not what she represented.

Audrey had fed Cadwallader a few lies when she first got assigned to the Alley, but nothing major. Things like pickpocketing on the other side of the Alley if Russell was going to lead another protest at the Daily Prophet for trying to sugarcoat the effect on Diagon Alley during the war. She had always been honest about the things she had perceived as a major issue, like Serena’s wellbeing.

"We're having a card game this evening; would you like to play with us?"

"That sounds nice, I'll be down in a few minutes."

Cadwallader had been here long enough to prove herself. Maybe it was time she had a talk with people still giving her bad reports.

* * *

"Aud…" John moaned as Audrey opened the door to her room after winning some money at cards. John looked a shade of ghostly white, with large dark circles under his eyes and holding a bucket tightly to his chest.

Audrey shrieked and nearly slammed the door in shock. She had never seen John look this ill before, he looked dead.

"I need a favor… I need you to go with Bennett on patrol tonight… I think I'm sick…"

"I think you are right."

"I'm sorry about the short notice… Bennett's going to be here in a couple of minutes."

"Just go to bed John. I'll get my cloak and boots and meet him downstairs. Now go to bed." Audrey closed the door as John shuffled across the hall hunched over his bucket pathetically.

A couple of minutes later Audrey was stepping out into the hall again, ready to go and look for possible new hideouts for Serena. That brat. Audrey walked down the creaking stairs to find Russell sitting at the bar. He looked over at Audrey and smiled.

"Hey, where's Johnny?" Russell asked as he got off the stool and walked towards Audrey, "He's running late."

"John's sick, I'll go with you tonight. So, ready to go?"

Russell's expression changed from one of curiosity to absolute excitement. His smile seemed to grow larger and he held the door open to let Audrey pass first before going out himself.

The street was growing dark and many were beginning to head home for the evening. They walked quietly for a few minutes looking for the homeless man who would give up good information for a price. The man lived on the streets after the war for some reason that Audrey was curious about; he had said it was a choice said he was sticking to the man or some such nonsense. Audrey didn't ask any more questions on the subject.

They soon found him at the entrance to Knockturn Alley sorting through the items he had in his bag, blankets, cloaks, a small brown bag, and a few items of presumably sentimental value. Russell walked over with Audrey following closely her hand on her wand holster; she may have brought it back from the office it was easy and efficient for carrying a rather versatile weapon.

The homeless man looked at the pair and smiled, he seemed to expect some of his regular patronage for his information. "'Ullo there Russell!" He stood and peered over at Audrey who had just stepped into Russell's lengthening shadow. "And this must be the lovely Audrey ya keep talking about. Ya lucky dog, ya finally got the girl, I can go collect from Scully now right?" He looked even closer at Audrey who was now contemplating an invisibility charm.

Russell had been shocked into silence.

"Ya were right; she does have beautiful eyes like the ice on a frozen pond." The man leaned in closer to Russell; Audrey could barely hear him speak. "Pay me extra and I'll be quiet."

Audrey heard the jingle of coins being taken out of Russell's pocket. Audrey pretended she was somewhere else while turning away to look down the street. She could feel her face growing warmer.

Russell was asking questions and receiving answers. He was beginning with small, trivial things and working his way to the things he really wanted to know. Like where Serena was hiding.

The man said that he had seen the girl, but he had no idea where she would be. "Sorry I can't be of more help to ya Russ. I'll keep my eyes open for the kid and tell ya if I find her."

"Thank you, have a good evening sir." Russell said with a smile as he turned to continue the regular route.

"Just a moment Russell," The man said as he looked around nervously, a far change from his joking demeanor a few minutes ago. "I just heard something that may be of interest to your lot."

"I'm listening."

"There is a rumor about a man called Lux beginning to rise back to power in the criminal underworld."

Audrey turned to look at the man, "It's not a rumor, Cadwallader told me the same thing earlier today. If it's reached the Ministry's ears he must have made an error in judgment of some sort. We want to find Serena before Lux can, before he can turn her into one of his recruits. Lux is likely having a field day with all of these kids who lost their guardians during the war. Wants an army he does."

The man rolled his eyes, "He's hardly being subtle girly, Lux opened a meeting hall someplace in Knockturn Alley. It's the same one he's been using with a new entrance in a new location. If people get to close," he drew his finger across his throat. "Ya get the picture."

Russell chuckled nervously, "I really don't think he's trying to build a child army, Aud."

"He wants to expand his empire, Russell, get the new recruits young, poor as dirt, and alone in the world." It was a perfect strategy. Audrey remembered it well. "He gets half of everything his cronies bring in, most of them are rather good at their jobs and brainwashed enough to do anything he says. Why do you think we had Enforcers here? They were trying to bring him down; petty theft is hardly anything for Aurors to deal with." Audrey smiled grimly. "Darnell Lux stays just below their radar."

"Thanks again for the help, sir." Russell said to the man who smiled in response as he put everything back into his bag and walked down the street. He looked at Audrey once the man was out of hearing. "I'm sorry, you probably have a better idea how Lux works then I do, considering you were one of his… What's the word?"

"Prospects. I lucked out when you told me about the position at the Septenary, I almost joined up." Audrey started to laugh. "I almost became a career criminal." She clutched her sides as she began to laugh harder. "A year later I was wanted for the stealing of magical power. I love the irony."

They continued down the usual route without any problems. Aside from the regular problems of scams, local scandals, and a lost rat all was quiet. All was well. On their return trip to the Leaky Cauldron, Russell stopped in front of the entrance to Knockturn Alley and peered down it intently. Audrey had never seen him look that way before. He was pretty happy go lucky most of the time.

"Aud, I think I saw something down there."

"Like what?" Audrey asked as she peered around him, placing a hand on Russell's shoulder.

"It was a reflection of some sort, some bright gleam." He looked back at Audrey with a smile, "Want to take a look?"

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Audrey did not like walking into Knockturn Alley after dark.

Russell smiled, "Hey, you're with me, it'll be fine." He strode down the cobblestone street confidently leaving Audrey to hurry after him. "I know you're not scared to the dark Aud!"

Being afraid of the dark was an irrational fear if one was alone in their room. Being afraid of the dark while walking down a dark street was perfectly rational. Audrey may have fearlessly walked down this street during the day while following a little girl and fetching supplies, but night in Knockturn justified most of her paranoia.

She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and pulled her wand out of its holster. It began to rain heavily. Audrey moved closer to Russell as he as stopped suddenly and a burst of thunder overhead brought her hands to her ears and caused her knees to buckle. She wanted to leave and hide under the covers on her bed. Audrey was ashamed to admit her irrational fear.

Russell looked down at her warmly as Audrey stepped behind him as another loud boom sounded overhead. "You alright?"

"F-fine," She looked around nervously, dread growing within her. "Russell, I have a bad feeling and I think it's time to go back."

"I thought you wanted to catch Serena?"

"I do, but I have a really bad feeling."

_And she is not stupid enough to get soaked in the rain._

"Okay, okay, we'll go back." Russell smiled and placed his arm around her shoulders. "I don't know why you're so paranoid. I mean, nothing ever happens around here except for pub fights, riots, pick pocketing, drunkenness, disorder, gambling, and card games. Was that everything?"

Audrey nodded. She then felt Russell pull her by her cloak into a gap between a couple of shops and put his hand over her mouth.

_"Mumph!"_ Audrey looked out into the street to find a man in the mask standing there with another figure with its face hidden by the hood of its cloak.

The second figure was tall and slender with very white hands; Audrey noticed it was a woman when she spoke. She had a soft, seductive voice. "How are things proceeding? Well I hope."

"He told me to come back in a couple of days after he thought about it. I hope you understand my reasoning behind allowing him time to think it over."

"I would rather have willing servants." The woman replied smoothly, as she adjusted the clasp of her cloak. "I don't think it would be wise to continue this discussion here, someone may hear us. I would rather not have any… _disappearances_ tonight."

Russell pulled Audrey closer as she began to tremble uncontrollably.

The pair began to walk away down the Alley and Russell released his hold on Audrey and began to walk out of the gap after them. "C'mon Audrey!"

" _Disappearances_ Russell!" Audrey hissed as Russell walked after the pair with Audrey following a few feet behind him down the winding twisting street. Russell turned a corner, taking him out of Audrey’s line of sight. "Bad feelings!" She mumbled to her own hearing as she picked up the pace to keep the man in sight. "He just doesn't listen to me… Men are gits…"

There was a shout from up ahead and a bright burst of light. Audrey broke into a full run and rounded the corner with her wand in hand ready to return fire.

Russell was laying on the ground with a dark cloaked figure standing over him.

He was not moving…

_There was so much blood…!_

_“Sagitta Glacies!”_ The rain around Audrey froze to sharpened points and whistled through the air at the cloaked figure that stood over Russell.

The hooded figure dissipated her spell with a rapid wave of his hand. He lifted his head and Audrey got a fleeting look at the golden mask beneath that stopped her breath and time seemed to slow to a stop.

Audrey could not tear herself from the dark, soulless pits of his eyes.

A second hooded figure stepped forward and fired a spell of cyan fire.

Audrey ducked down to the rain soaked street as the spell flew over her head and set fire to a sign behind her. There was blood flowing down the cobblestones, soaking into Audrey’s trousers and over robe. She could not think about that now.

Two on one... Audrey did not like this.

A heavy fog emerged from the masked man’s wand, covering her view of them and Russell.

She leapt back up to retaliate; despite the rain, a series of loud cracks like wood on a fire began to sound through the air, burning away the fog with rapidly igniting fire.

As the fog burned away, the two figures seemed to have disappeared. Audrey caught her breath and surveyed the scene, looking for the two figures or unknown threats before running towards the prone figure of Russell Bennett.

“RUSS-“

Audrey never saw what happened next, never heard the spell that hit her in the chest and threw her into a large puddle of water.

She did hear the two people standing over her talking about how to best get around the wards that prevented apparition. The man lifting her under her arms while the woman chanted words that made no sense to Audrey's befuddled mind.

She struggled to lift her arm, a curse pulsing around her hand like a heartbeat as she was dragged along the ground. Audrey could feel where the hands of the person were. With a grunt, Audrey brought her hand on top of her captor’s own.

_Congelo…_

The magic flowed from her fingertips, and Audrey’s frostbite curse took immediate effect. The spell was strong enough that Audrey felt her own hand go numb from the close proximity to the target.

Then she was suddenly dropped onto the cold stone street below as a man bellowed in shock as severe frostbite instantly blackened his hand.

Suddenly, there was scream from a lady in one of the flats above, “CALL AN ENFORCER!”

“Damn!” The man stopped trying to continue pulling Audrey away by the hood of her cloak and the pair disappeared with a couple of near silent snapping noises.

Audrey felt as if she were covered in a dark cloak as she faded from consciousness.

* * *

Around midnight, Percy found himself dragging his drunken brother away from the scene of yet another brawl at the Sneezing Snitch. Percy now had every intention of talking to people who had the authority to close it down seeing how often these fights occurred. He had already ruined a couple of good cloaks trying to find his brother in that mess. It was a rather unsanitary place.

Perhaps he just needed to go to bed, finish the mystery novel he was reading and hope that he did not go downstairs to find his mum crying over the eggs in the morning. Percy had started going to work earlier to avoid scenes like that; more then three times of awkwardly trying to comfort his distressed mother was enough for him. He was never very good at comforting people. Going to work early also meant he could avoid George and his worship of the porcelain god. George had moved back in at his mother's insistence. Percy was preparing himself to tell his mum that he was moving back to his flat. It felt very uncomfortable to be home for the past couple of months, he had gotten the feeling often that he wasn't wanted around. To add to that, he just felt guilty.

"It's your fault, ya know." George slurred as he stumbled away from his brother.

"I know it is," This scene felt familiar. "But I'll find a way to fix it, I promise." It was not like he would be missed if he found a way to do it anyway. Though Percy knew it was impossible, it felt good to think he could fix it.

Percy found himself wondering where Audrey was; she usually located her drunken father about the same time he found George. The old man was still there teasing the barkeep Scully while he drank his way through his third bottle. At least Percy thought it was his third bottle. He wondered how long she had been dragging her father back from shady pubs like that. Though Scully seemed to make sure nobody stepped out of line and she seemed well known enough to not have too many problems.

There was some kind of commotion up ahead, voices shouting about a mugging and a murder. In between a couple of Medi-Wizards was a figure covered completely in a white sheet. Percy noticed there was a red stain on the chest area. He looked away and found a second figure that was on a stretcher and in the process of being taken to Saint Mungo's.

Percy set George down and ran over to an enforcer he recognized and was acquainted with. Celeste Cadwallader looked like she had thrown her uniform on in a hurry, and in the dark as some of her buttons were buttoned in the wrong holes and she looked like she was in shock.

"Celeste!"

He had never seen Celeste with her hair down before. Percy put a hand on Celeste's shoulder and got a better look at the figure being taken away and recognized the large brown coat first before he was able to get a better look at her face. Percy felt like someone had just wrenched a knife into his chest.

Audrey Causey.

"Go find Septimus…" Celeste whispered as she wiped her eyes and stepped out of his grip, she sniffled once before straightening her spine and locking her eyes with some of the first responding enforcers, most of them looking no better then Celeste, one man was still in his striped pajamas and griffon slippers. Celeste's voice was hawkish and hard as she took in their appearances. "Knockturn Alley is under lockdown until we find out who is responsible for this! _I want the perpetrator found tonight!"_

There were noises of affirmation as the Enforcers went to canvas the surrounding area and the entire alley.

Percy went to pick up George and haul him back to the Sneezing Snitch with him as quickly as he was able to move.

Audrey's father needed to know where his daughter was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that there are wizards who have particular affinities for particular spellcraft or types of magic. Combination of wand type and personality makes those spells easier to cast.
> 
> Audrey has an affinity for water and ice based spells, so she'll default to those in life threatening situations or times of stress.
> 
> Sagitta Glacies is a literal translation of latin for ice arrows according to google translate, because I'm lazy.
> 
> Congelo is a latin translation of Freeze from google translate.


	14. Remembrance

_December 31th 1995_

Audrey smiled contentedly as she leaned back in the third class seat watching the world fly by through the train window. A small wooden box in her lap opened displaying many letters and a few pictures that Audrey was looking at carefully. She was taking in every detail of the young man man, whose smile looked infectious and lively, the woman who looked as happy as he did. Another picture showed the two much at roughly Audrey's age, working on an old beater car in an empty pasture field. The date on the back labeled Evelyn Green to be fifteen, Aran Causey was sixteen.

Evelyn Green was petite, with long blonde hair and had a twinkle of mischief in her eyes that showed even through the aged yellowed photograph. Audrey looked a good deal like her. Aran meanwhile was elbow deep in the hood of the car, presumably doing something with the motor; his hair was sticking up in all directions.

She was finally going to see her father. Her hands began to shake excitedly as she closed the box and hugged it to her chest. Audrey was going to find him.

They would be a family again.

Though, she was nervous about this whole traveling to London bit. Audrey only had enough muggle money for a one way ticket. She nudged the broom lying next to her feet nervously. Just in case things went bad, like if her wallet got stolen, she could at least have a way to go somewhere.

After her grandfather had begun to get sicker, Audrey had managed to procure an old broom before the Christmas holidays and enchant it at the school. Just in case she needed to make some kind of escape after Granda's funeral. It was a large enough affair that Audrey had snuck off without too much notice. The only person that was not there was her father, Audrey was sure he had good reason for not coming. Maybe he was working on a case. Her eyes began to grow heavy as she took her dad's large old trench coat from her rucksack, which held all of her worldly goods, to use as a blanket and tugged the fur cap around her head snuggly around her ears.

In the muggle world, Audrey was still underage for another two and a half years; she would still be underage in the wizarding world for another year and a five months. Easy decision really. She refused to risk going into foster care she may not be able to get back to Hogwarts if she did. Also she didn't like the idea of explaining her abnormalities to muggles.

Audrey was sure her father would accept her; it would only be for a few months they could get to know each other. Audrey was positive he would take her in. She just knew it somehow.

She decided to ignore the nagging voice in the back of her mind that told her the opposite.

* * *

"Causey… Causey… Causey… Where is Aran Causey?" Audrey flipped through the phonebook in a local library, quickly reading each name until a small ad on the page next to it caught her attention.

_Aran E. Causey, Private Investigator_

The ad gave an address and a phone number. Audrey smiled a she copied the information on the back of a free bookmark from the front desk. Her hand trembled in nervous excitement and anticipation. He was not too far from here; she had walked down the same street to get to this library. It would be a quick walk back the way she came. Audrey double-checked the address thanked the librarian, and ran out the door, excitement and adrenaline pulsing through her body, so close, so very close.

It was a short run down the street. It looked like a newer building, tall like the rest of the buildings around it. She wondered if he would even be available on a minor holiday like this?

She felt her boot lose grip on the icy steps to the building bringing Audrey to her knees. She felt the corners of her eyes dampen in pain. She gave a pained hiss as she pulled herself to her feet and winced as he knee refused to straighten. Grabbing the railing, Audrey managed to limp inside where it was nice and warm.

There was a tiny woman at the desk who was reading a magazine with interest. Audrey limped over, adjusting her backpack, her hat and double-checking to see if she still had her broom. "'Cuse me Ma'am, do you know where I can find Aran Causey?"

The woman looked up with interest. "707 on the seventh floor," she paused. "He doesn't get a lot of visitors, clients mostly. You seem too young to be a client."

"I'm eighteen." Audrey lied wanting to keep this nosy woman out of her business. "Thing is, I'm looking for someone and Mister Causey came highly recommended."

"Ah," the woman replied as she waved Audrey on so she could continue reading her magazine. Audrey limped into the lift at the other end of the room.

Audrey was scared. Her heart was beating so loudly she swore the man standing next to her in the lift could hear it. It stopped on the seventh floor and Audrey walked off with a photograph of her father in her pocket to remind herself why she was here. It was her favorite picture; her father was showing off his scores for his end of school exams, achieving perfect marks. Audrey's grandmother used to say that she had the same smile her father had whenever she was up to something. That was how she could always tell if Audrey was doing something she wasn't supposed too.

_707… 707…_

The door was a solid looking oak door was the only thing keeping her from her family now. Her heart thundered louder in her chest as her stomach rumbled loudly.

_Maybe he'll feed me…_

Audrey's fist rose to knock on the door. Why was she so nervous?

As she was about to knock the door suddenly flew open.

"If you're selling raffle tickets boy, I'll make this easy for you. I'm not interested."

Audrey felt her jaw drop as she looked at the man before her. He was fast approaching forty with a couple of gray hairs in his mouse brown hair possessing a wiry build. The thing that made Audrey do a double take was the fact that they had the same coloring down to the ice blue eyes. Everything else could be claimed by Eva Causey, Audrey's mother. He looked Audrey up and down with a wary eye, "Now what do you want?"

"I-I… I'm not selling anything." She fixed her furry hat nervously, suddenly feeling very nervous and finding it difficult to speak. 

_C'mon Audrey tell him who you are!_

"I-I'm looking for someone…"

Aran Causey gripped the bridge of his nose with one hand and motioned for Audrey to come in with the other. Audrey stepped past him and into the flat. It was fairly clean except for the kitchen, which was covered in brown paper sacks and a lot of cans. There was also a container of Chinese takeout sitting nearby. It smelled good. She heard the door close and footsteps walking across the wood floor.

"I like my clients to call first, holiday or not." He brushed past Audrey and sat at the desk he had set up in what looked like a living room and sat down behind it professionally, and motioned for her to sit down in an overstuffed armchair on the other side. Audrey set her things down and sat suddenly feeling nauseous as she dropped into the chair. "Alright, I need some information."

"L-Like what?" Audrey stared at him with eyes like saucers and began to twiddle her thumbs nervously. She looked over his shoulder to find a rather large bookshelf filled with what appeared to be a collection of history books. She would love to sit down with one of those thick volumes for a few hours. Her thumbs stopped twiddling and rested on her knees while she focused on the books to begin collecting her thoughts and calm her nerves.

"I'll need the name of the person you are looking for, what they look like, their date of birth, last place they were spotted, last year they were seen is a very good place to start on these matters. I'll need your name and information as well." There was a ringing sound from a room in the back. "I'll be right back." He walked briskly towards the room that was the source of the noise. Audrey felt her stomach flip uncomfortably when she heard him yelling at some poor soul over the phone. _"I am not interested in whatever it is you are trying to sell! It's New Year's Eve for crying out loud! Now_ please _stop calling me!"_

' _He's got a temper…'_ Audrey thought as she stood to have a better look around. The room was very bare with a couple of paintings and no photographs to speak of. It looked more like an office then a place that someone lived in. Could she bear the company of a man who seemed to have little interest in a personal life?

No sign of him having a family at all, nothing of grandda, grandma, her mother or Audrey herself.

Aran Causey seemed to have chosen to leave it all behind.

She sat back down quickly as she heard him walk down the hall and back into the room.

"Sorry, sorry," he reclaimed his seat behind the desk, and picked his pen back up to resume his note taking. “Also, if this is a boyfriend suspected of cheating, I charge and extra hundred for to cover car rentals and the price of gas, that will be covered in detail in the contract.”

"Do you have any kids, sir?" Audrey blurted out before she could stop herself. No turning back now.

"No." Aran Causey replied flatly, as the phone began to ring again. "Bloody blasted thing!" He rose and walked briskly back to answer the phone again.

Audrey leapt out of her chair, her eyes growing wet. She was wrong. _Wrong!_ He didn't want her all those years ago and he really would not want an _abomination_ like her under his roof now. Her breathing became short and ragged as her stomach rumbled loudly. The smell of still warm Chinese food filled her nostrils.

She picked up her bag, and broom before walking quickly and quietly into the kitchen. There was no hesitation before she picked up the box of takeout and put it into her bag along with a couple of cans of peaches in her coat pockets.

 _Screw him!_

Audrey never needed him before and she was not going to start needing him now!

_He left me, what in the world made me think he would want me now!_

She walked through the front door quietly with tears beginning to roll down her cheeks as she walked to the lift quickly, pushing past the father and daughter just walking out of the lift. As the lift doors closed Audrey gave a choked sob. She pulled herself together as the lift door slid open to the main floor. The woman behind the desk popped her gum as she continued to read her magazine, not even noticing a red-eyed Audrey going through the front door. 

_He didn't even come to Grandda's funeral! What the hell was I thinking?_

Audrey hated crying, her face felt blotchy, her eyes puffy; she was not one of those girls who could cry prettily.

She continued to walk through the snow and took the hot meal out of her bag when her tears began to subside. "He's my _bloody_ father; the least he can _bloody_ do is _bloody_ feed me!"

A man walking in front of her turned appearing to be appalled by her language.

Audrey did not care about his opinion, she had meant every word.

Hours later, Audrey found herself in front of a building ignored by passing muggles. She had continued walking in a daze and managed to sneak onto the underground to get here. Audrey had decided she was done with the muggle world; there was nothing for her there anymore. She smiled tightly, it was time she grew up and made something out of herself.

Walking quietly through the front door, Audrey suddenly felt warmer from the large crowd of people gathered in the Leaky Cauldron and the large fire growing in the fireplace. Audrey peered over the heads of a couple of people in front of her where a clock was striking seven in the evening. Audrey had muggle money, and the small savings account she had started at Gringotts had a little bit of money in it though according to the clock she would not be able to make any withdrawals and money transfers until morning.

Audrey sat up on an empty barstool next to an older man with grey hair and very thick caterpillar eyebrows. She eyed him warily as he drank his way through the glass of whiskey, he pushed his glasses up his nose and smacked his hand on the bar a couple of times. Audrey jumped.

"Another round Tom and keep'em comin', it's New Years after all." His robes were patched at the elbows, Audrey noticed. She guessed the old timer was the local drunk that people had learned to ignore somewhat. He seemed rather friendly with a few of the people nearby and was making conversation with the barkeep Tom. Audrey then presumed he was a very regular customer.

She took the picture out of the pocket of her coat. It was just a picture of two people called Evelyn and Aran Causey, one dead in the ground, the other dead to her. Audrey seriously considered for a few minutes throwing it into the fireplace, but changed her mind and put it back in her pocket.

It was the only picture she had of her mother.

By the time midnight had come, Audrey had forgotten the older man completely and gone to sleep with her head on her arms. She had no idea she would soon become very familiar with him when school let out for the summer.

* * *

_Mid-August, 1997_

"Do it again Audrey, and this time, do it right."

Audrey doubled over resting her hands on her knees, she was sore Septimus had been instructing her for almost an hour on different techniques in combat. Stuff he had invented on the fly during his youth and some standard spell review. He was doing it with everybody but he seemed to be focusing on Audrey particularly.

Today’s lesson was wandless magic.

"I thought that was right." She panted as she tried to stand up straight.

"Don't get smart with me young lady! I'm trying to keep you alive. Perfect practice makes perfect, now do it again."

"You're pretty mean when you're off the booze."

The ground beneath her began to shake as Septimus tapped his cane on the ground and muttered an incantation. Audrey suddenly found herself rising into the air by her ankles. A root had risen out of the ground and was pulling her up into the tree nearby.

_"What!"_

The vine lowered her towards the ground so that she was now eye to eye with the disturbingly sober Septimus, Audrey was starting to regret her comment towards his unwanted sobriety.

Septimus' voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned closer to the dangling Audrey. "You were expecting me to throw a hex at you right? Something you could see coming and defend yourself against? I hate to tell you kid, the real world fights dirty, lying in wait for any and all opportunities to destroy you. I suggest you start refining your technique and start thinking like the people who want to kill you. The only allies you have are the people with us now. The Ministry is being run by You-Know-Who supporters who appear to be trying to _purify_ ," he said purify like it was some kind of bad taste in his mouth, "the wizarding world by, what sounds to me like genocide. You're turning purple."

Audrey yelped as she was unceremoniously deposited on the forest floor.

"I suggest you start thinking outside the box the Hogwarts and Ministry Educational Regulations put you into, because the enemy knows every spell you do except for the ones you discover on your own and what I am trying to teach you now. Go do it again."

"Y-yes sir!"

“Focus. Feel the spark of magic flow through your body; it’s a part of you and your being, independent of a wand and the ideals of lesser wizards. What form does it take for you?”

Audrey closed her eyes, feeling that Septimus might actually be completely mad.

“When the world comes apart, what is the thing that holds you together? Focus on that.”

She did not feel sparky.

“Magic is cast from an emotional well. Pull down the wall on your reservoir, imagine the spell you need to cast forming in your fingertips.”

“Way are you teaching me this?” Audrey’s eyes opened and looked at Septimus pensively. “We’re researchers, we study magical methodology not how to craft it for war.”

Septimus leaned against his walking stick, digging the tip into the dirt to draw a circle.

“As researchers, we do not have the luxury of judging any magic as good or evil, light or dark. The core of us sees magic as what it truly is, as an amoral tool and thing that connects us as magical creatures. I could cast a killing curse on my enemies, it is quickest and easiest of methods, but I could also stun someone and throw them into the ocean. The method is different, but the result is the same.”

“So, all magic is by your definition dark then because the no matter what you use, you can kill someone?”

Septimus shrugged, “Depends on who’s being killed. Is it an innocent bystander, or someone who has taken a hundred lives and will take a hundred more before the war ends? The point I’m trying to make is that the spell does not matter, intention does. War is dangerous Audrey, survival in this environment will come with a heavy cost that you will not understand until we have laid down our wands as victors.” He rested the palm of his hand against a nearby tree. “I want to give you another tool to help you survive this war, if you are disarmed and captured, at least you can have a fighting chance to get away.”

The bark of the tree began to peel itself around Septimus’ hand.

“I am teaching you this, because I believe you are powerful and capable enough to learn wandless magic. Stop selling yourself short. Now try again.”

Septimus was right; she only had one shot at making it out of this war alive, though if she had to go down, Audrey intended to take as many Death Eaters and Ministry Mooks as she could with her.

* * *

_July 4th 1998_

"Ow…" Audrey opened her eyes to find herself staring at a white light, her eyes widened as she focused on the light over her head. She blinked a couple of times, "Agrippa's knickers, I'm dead aren't I…" A rather scruffy looking figure leaned over her. Audrey recognized it immediately. "Wait, if you're here this can't be heaven… This must be the _other_ place!"

"Hell is reserved for politicians, bureaucrats, lawyers, and traitors. You're not dead yet, keep this up though and I might just kill you myself. Though I'll have a very hard time explaining where you went to the neighbors."

“You ran off six other apprentices before me, I’m sure you’d come up with something.”

Septimus moved back a bit, leaning on his walking stick while giving Audrey a look that would make those unfamiliar with it run screaming in the other direction. The dark circles under his eyes were no help. "I want to know what the hell you were thinking." He was breathing heavily and Audrey pulled the hospital sheets up to her chin to try and hide. "I would not have even known where you were or what happened unless that bloody bureaucrat came back to the pub to tell me what was going on. He seemed to think I was _Mister Causey_ for some reason…"

"Did you tell him we're not related?"

"No, I was about to while I was stepping out the door and then I tripped over that depressed clown brother of his who passed out on the front steps of the Sneezing Snitch." Septimus replied flatly, as he rubbed his forehead. His tone reverted to clipped. "I hate feeling like I _owe_ somebody. But we were not discussing that. What were you doing down there?"

It all came back in a rush, Russell, the cloaked woman, the thunder, and the man in the golden mask, and that bright light. "Russell saw a man in gold mask in Knockturn.”

“A mask of gold?” Septimus repeated, confused.

“I couldn't let him go alone, he was meeting this woman. I didn't see her face but she had this pretty voice and they seem to be working together." Audrey was speaking quickly trying to tell Septimus exactly what happened as quickly as she could. "They walked deeper into Knockturn, Russell was following with me a few feet behind him and… Is Russell okay? When can I see him?"

Septimus seemed at be at a loss for words for a moment, he was looking around the room seeming to take in the strange assortment of medical injuries nearby, including a man with a pickle stuck in his ear. "There is something you need to-"

"Uncle, I brought the tea!" Lucia's voice sounded from the other end of the room. There was a rapid pattering of footsteps as Lucia approached. "One large half full glass of green tea no sugar for you, and a small jasmine for me, I can't believe you don't like sugar in your tea. Absolutely mental." She gave a cup of tea to Septimus and fixed Audrey with a relieved smile as she reach out to brush Audrey's hair out of her face. "How are you feeling? Better then yesterday I hope."

Audrey raised an eyebrow, "What's the date?"

"The fourth, you've been out of it since they brought you in two days ago. You did wake up for a bit yesterday, but they gave you some sleeping drought and doused you with some more potions to help speed up the healing of some other damage." Lucia smiled grimly; it quickly morphed into a look of disgust. "Uncle, are you putting _whiskey_ in your _tea_?"

"Yes," Septimus replied as he stirred the contents of his glass slowly and placed his flask of whiskey on the bedside table. "Why do you care what I put in my tea?"

"Because it's gross."

"Have you ever tried it?"

_"No."_

"Then you have no grounds for an argument." Septimus answered coolly as he took a sip of his tea.

Audrey could not care less at that moment what Septimus put in his tea or not, he still had not answered her question. "When can I see Russell?"

Septimus and Lucia grew quiet.

Audrey's stomach knotted up in anxiety. "Please tell me."

Septimus looked down at his tea, appearing to be uncomfortable, "Russell is dead, Audrey. I'm sorry."

The world suddenly slipped from beneath Audrey leaving her over a dark empty pit. 

Russell Bennett was just living his life and now it was gone. Snuffed out like a candle flame.

“The whole Alley is in an uproar.” Lucia took the seat next to Audrey’s bed and held her hand. “Whoever attack you and Russell just disappeared, you are so lucky that old hag heard what was going on.”

Septimus sighed, “Nice boy, he didn’t deserve that.”

Russell was so young, only twenty-five and already a well respected community leader in Diagon Alley, a hole that needed to be filled after Fortescue went missing during the war. 

“How would they disappear, though? I thought people could not directly apparate in or out of Diagon Alley?” Audrey asked, her grip on the bed sheets tightening.

“To lift a ward like that, even in a small location would take a very powerful warlock, and it would take time.” Septimus explained. “I could do it with support from either of you for example, but even with two or three wix it would take some time, and timing is everything if you are leaving in a hurry.”

Audrey nodded, remembering the riot and how quickly people realized they were trapped when the Floo Network went down.

“So, No Face had help, powerful help,” Lucia spoke slowly, measuring each word before it passed her lips. “I don’t like this, Uncle Septimus, I really don’t.”

Septimus made a noise, “I like those Enforcers who keep trying to come in to talk to Audrey a lot less. Want to deal with them now or after your Healer gets back from break?”

“Healer first.” Audrey winced as she adjusted herself slightly.

The war was over, but why were good people still dying?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we have a flashback chapter. Yay! We'll get more flashback segments, but thy will not be as long as these ones were.
> 
> Septimus taught Audrey a lot of things and taught her very well. He's a lot of the reason that she's alive right now.


	15. Grief

_July 5th 1998_

Audrey could not sleep; she was staring at the ceiling trying to comprehend everything that had happened during the past couple of days. She needed a something to focus on, something to focus her attentions, like another patrol shift, or an opportunity to find the man in the golden mask. He had murdered her friend. He and his companion had tried to drag her somewhere. If he thought he was going to get away then he had another thing coming, his death would be far from painless if she had her way.

Audrey intended to have her way.

Sitting up was painful, the hospital had released her with a prescription for the proper medications but it was going to be a slow recovery. The curse she was hit with was something that was known to kill with enough force to make the death very painful. Audrey was lucky, she was hit with the very edge of the curse and it only caused injuries that she could recover from in time.

Audrey sucked in air through gritted teeth as she turned and placed her toes on the cold floor. She moved her foot around slowly looking for her slippers. Both were located under her bed and were dragged out, pink bunny slippers tended to be easy to find. Audrey rose to her feet slowly and shuffled across the floor towards the bathroom clutching at her chest. Reaching for the wooden door of the cabinet a sudden sharp pain shot up her arm. She swore under her breath as she pushed through the pain, pulled the door open and took a green potion and placed it on the counter. Audrey took the top off and was consumed by the smell of rotten eggs.

"That's gross," she muttered as she read the directions on the back of the bottle. "Two mouthfuls in the morning, two before bed. If pain continues during the day may take one mouthful after lunch. Do not take if you suspect you are pregnant, are actually pregnant, or are trying to become pregnant. Must they put that one everything?" She lifted the vile to her nose and sniffed it nervously before leaning away from it quickly. "It's really gross." She sucked in a breath, plugged her nose and took two mouthfuls of the vile concoction. Audrey gagged as she placed the potion back into the cabinet and closed the door, it tasted like cherries, and Audrey hated cherries.

It would be lying to say that she felt completely better after taking the medicine and arriving to work. Audrey still felt like she had been pushed in front of the Knight Bus as she arrived at the Ministry a couple of hours later. She turned up the collar of her trench coat and looked at the floor as she walked back to the Security hall to go down to the locker room. There were whispers from the other guards that seemed to follow her. Maybe she was being paranoid.

A few minutes later Audrey had stepped out of the locker room in full security uniform and found herself walking towards the postings for the day, it was upside-down again but Audrey could not bring herself to care. If Walker got laid it was none of her concern. Audrey tilted her head and found her post of be on the second floor. Not too much to worry about, that was where the Aurors and Enforcers were based. They tried to maintain a calm environment to work in considering their stressful jobs. Audrey did not need to be upstairs for another twenty minutes; she needed to visit the library. Audrey had finished her book already, was not in the mood to study and needed something to occupy her time.

Wondering to the lift that would take her to the library Audrey realized the early birds were beginning to arrive. She could be upstairs in about fifteen minutes, she just needed to return a book and pick up a couple more. She was helping Septimus find specific materials in his quest to try and sue the Ministry, they just had to find the right loophole. Though at the moment, that was not at the top of her list of reading materials. She found a book in the Defense section that looked like a history of the first war against Voldemort that looked absolutely fascinating. Through it may have been out of date; also there was a novel she had found in the fiction section that she was hoping was still there.

The chief librarian was minding the counter when Audrey walked in. Audrey thought she was a sweet looking old lady, but the image was distorted by the fact she was reading about how to break curses and taking notes on the contents. Audrey found herself thinking that she would not pity the poor sod that caused the chief librarian to lose her temper. She would not help him either, Audrey planned on just leaving the room to let the chief do with him whatever she pleased, and would privately hope that she would not be called to testify against her if such a thing occurred.

The chief looked up and Audrey stepped back for a second scared she had done something to upset her. The chief smiled and went back to her book. Audrey put her book in the drop box and walked off to find the books she was looking for.

This section of the library was quiet whenever Audrey was down here. A lot of people only came down here to do research for paperwork and the like, Audrey liked to come down to the lesser used sections for some peace and quiet before work sometimes. Now she was here to find a distraction. Preferably a four hundred page long distraction, she did not want to think about her reality. She wanted to pretend she was somewhere else entirely for as long as she could manage it. Pulling the book off the shelf Audrey began her walk to the small fiction section. The only reason the Ministry had a fiction section was the librarians had fought for one a few years ago considering on the best of days their jobs were quite dull and routine. They only put books away, helped people find books, order books, and check books out. Audrey suspected they did a few other things involving books but was not sure what.

She walked back to the counter to find the chief librarian talking with Percy. Audrey stuffed the books under her arm and tried to take refuge in the botany section, she stopped dead in her tracks when the chief librarian’s voice rang out from the desk.

"Would you like to check out Miss? There's been a situation in the back and I need to go assist."

Audrey had to admit the chief librarian was good, very good, with really bad timing.

"Sure, if you're busy though, I can wait." Audrey looked at Percy who stepped back from the counter motioning for her to go ahead. Audrey noticed his hands were empty. He must have been making a return.

"How are you doing?" Percy asked as the chief began checking out the books, he sounded concerned, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Fine," Audrey remembered vaguely Septimus mentioning Percy had gotten him when Audrey was being taken to the Saint Mungo's. "Hey, thanks for telling the old man what happened, I don't think he would have found me otherwise."

Audrey had the sudden image of Septimus walking through Diagon Alley putting up Lost Apprentice posters with a reward being a bottle of Irish whiskey.

"Actually, I _know_ he wouldn't have found me."

The chief put the books on the counter with a smile and ran off to assist in controlling a situation in the back of the library. They both began to walk back to the lift.

"I don't think your father would have found you either." Percy continued before Audrey could get a chance to correct him. "What were you doing down there after dark anyway?" He sounded bossy.

Audrey shrugged in response, "We were looking for someone." The less people who knew, the better, Audrey was not going to drag innocents into the mess if she could help it. Just in case things got messy.

"Who were you looking for?" His expression was suspicious and warning bells went off in Audrey's head. Percy was smart; Audrey had to assume he would look into anything she mentioned in detail. Especially if he had access to the areas were he had the information to piece things together.

Percy's expression shifted something tender and empathetic. Audrey felt her stomach flip uncomfortably. "How's your friend?"

Audrey clutched the books a little closer to her chest, "Dead."

The lift opened into the atrium and Audrey stepped out to get onto another lift with Percy following close behind.

"I'm sorry," he said as they got into the lift to the upper floors. "If there's anything I can do-"

"I'll let you know." Audrey got off at the second floor and raised her hand in a half-hearted wave as the grates closed behind her, sucking in a breath as a sharp pain shot through her arm and shoulder.

The rubbing of the tender area did nothing to soothe the physical aches and pains. Audrey made her way to the desk and suddenly there was a man standing in front of her. Audrey recoiled violently and put her hand on her wand on a reflex.

"Audrey Causey?"

"Yes."

She recognized this man.

Her body relaxed slightly, though her hand never came off her wand.

"I need to speak to you," Sergious Sloan was a slight man who was only a head taller then Audrey at best.

"Can't this wait? I have a shift in ten minutes."

Sloan's gaze hardened, "I've already cleared it with your supervisor. If you'll come with me, I would like to ask you some questions." He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her to a side office where Audrey felt the eyes of some the office dwellers on her as Sloan opened the door and ushered her into a small dim room where there was only a desk and a chair on either side.

Sloan helped Audrey ease herself into the chair before taking his own on the other side of the desk.

They were silent for a few minutes. Audrey observed the crinkles and furrow of his brow as he met Audrey's eyes in a cold stare. Audrey exhaled and met his eyes calmly; she refused to be intimidated today. It was just too exhausting.

Sloan leaned back in his chair and smiled suddenly as if trying to make this seem like a casual discussion. The smile looked unnatural on his face, like it was unaccustomed to the gesture.

"Can I get you anything? Something to drink perhaps?" Sloan asked, his voice neutral and polite as Audrey rewarded him with a cold look as she began putting the pieces together as to what was going on. She did not care to get doused with truth serum.

Audrey cleared her mind and shifted her attention to Sloan's nose to make it appear she was still looking into his eyes in defiance and ignorance of what was truly going on.

"I'm fine, thank you. Why am I here?"

Sloan's smile fell of his face manner grew stern and he fixed Audrey with a blank stare. Audrey mimicked the expression, she had done nothing wrong and the interrogator annoyed her. It would help her to stop him from probing her mind too deeply.

She focused her thoughts on reciting the runic alphabet to keep the images out of her head.

"Well, Audrey I'll be blunt. I received word that you have a book in your possession about dark magic of a sensitive nature."

He pulled a bag out from a drawer and pulled a thick tome out of it and placed it on his desk. It was the book she was studying on her breaks.

That was not how she expected this to start.

Audrey felt her fist clench as frost formed on her fingertips. Audrey replied with a steady even tone. "Tell me Sloan, does the Ministry search everyone's locker or _just_ the Muggle-borns?"

"That's out of line."

"No it isn't."

They glared at each other quietly.

Audrey starting thinking about kittens.

Sloan's calm expression never shifted.

"I have decided to confiscate this book for being a… suspicious guide on how to cast nefarious spells and I will be taking this up with your department head and several other people in authority about what should be banned from the Ministry of Magic."

"You can't ban knowledge! Besides, Derwyn Glynn is a theorist, a researcher who studies ancient magic. He’s not stupid enough to actually try it."

Sloan moved the book to the corner of his desk and Audrey's eyes followed it, planning on how to get it back into her possession, careful about not looking into Sloan's eyes so he could read her thoughts.

His voice snapped her back to her more immediate plight.

"I will also be discussing with those I report to if it would be a good idea to keep a witch of such… _disreputable_ character on staff. I doubt they would find you salvageable after they see this book's contents."

Audrey kept her face as blank as she could manage, but was unable to hide her white-knuckle grip on her robes.

"I wanted to talk with you when you were in Saint Mungo's, but your… father-"

"He's not my father."

"Friend, Mr. Lowell, used what some would consider excessive force and threats to keep me away from you and impede my investigation." Sloan leaned forward, his eyes were hard and Audrey felt the pull of his magic on her mind. Audrey began working her way through the runic alphabet backwards. Sloan's expression darkened. "He was very protective about your privacy."

Audrey snorted, she was Septimus' secret keeper, and Audrey would have done the same for anyone who knew most of her secrets. People who end up under sleeping potions could still sleep talk if they had the inclination, there were a lot of people who died from slip ups like that.

"Well, considering your Ministry tried to give me a Kiss not even six months ago, I am sure, with a little critical thinking, that you could understand why he was behaving that way."

"I can assure you I understand the need to protect an associate, especially if one is knows them so intimately."

Audrey's mind clicked and clattered as she put Sloan's accusation together.

" _Ew!_ I'm not _sleeping_ with him!"

"Then what else would make a man who is of no relation to you take such an interest in your welfare?"

" _I work for him!"_

She'd had enough.

"Ah," Sloan continued wryly, "I've been asking people about the kind of work Mr. Lowell does, he's not any better then you are. His connections to the criminal underworld are noted, but nobody's ever caught him doing anything suspicious. Cripples tend to move too slowly to escape the arm of the law."

 _Cripple!_ Audrey's blood began to boil.

"It would explain how he could go through six apprentices in such a short span of time. I wonder what he asked them to do for him? Steal for him? Complete dangerous assignments? Murder?"

Sloan smugly leaned back in his chair; Audrey tried to wipe the rage from her face but could not still her mind. There was a message in Sloan's questioning that Audrey caught onto immediately, and she could not remain silent.

" _H-How dare you!_ Russell Bennett is… _was_ a close friend of mine and you think I _killed_ him!"

"Audrey-"

"It's Miss Causey to you!"

Audrey got to her feet, gripping the back of her chair to steady her trembling body. "I do not have to stay for this." Audrey's voice was cold like a winter frost and she could feel a gentle touch of frost on the tip of her nose and the slight chill in the air. "You have no grounds for these baseless accusations about my mentor, my friend or myself." Audrey smiled sardonically, "If you want to try to accuse me of a crime I did not commit you'll have to do much, _much_ better than that." The back of the chair was covered with ice.

"Please sit down and you can give me your side of the story."

A vision of the gold mask filled Audrey's mind.

"Why? I think you've already decided on my guilt." More ice was slowly creeping up the desk of her accuser knocking the book to floor. Audrey sent more ice up to cover his paperwork while she shrunk and summoned her tome into her pocket.

Audrey took a lot of pleasure in watching Sloan turn red with rage. "As your superior I am ordering you to do as I say!" He slammed his fist on the desk to emphasize his point. "You are a mere security witch with no prospects beyond the walls of or within this esteemed institution. A criminal picking the best place to hide from your numerous crimes!"

Did he really just say that? The man was delusional. Audrey finished Hogwarts with top grades and definitely knew more about magic then this buffoon ever would as a mere dog for the Ministry.

"I don't have to do anything for you," She grabbed the doorknob and turned back to her interrogator, no longer caring about the consequences of her actions. _"Do your own damn job!"_

She flung the door open so hard it left a dent in the wall and stormed out of the room with such ferocity that many of the clerks rushed out of her way and Audrey paid them no mind. If Sloan came after her, she was going to put him through the bloody wall.

Audrey turned on her heel and walked into the empty corridor and took the long way back to her desk in an effort to walk off her anxious energy. Biases like that were not supposed to exist anymore, but they did, and Audrey was going to have to learn to deal with them. She saw her desk up ahead and gave a sigh of relief and sat down as she began to tremble violently.

She would leave her recovered book in her pocket for now.

* * *

"Celeste, could I have a moment?" The Head Enforcer asked as Audrey was still shaking from her encounter with the Ministry's internal investigator at her desk. At present, she was trying to lose herself in the mystery of who stole the directions to the grandest treasure known to wizard kind from the London Wizarding Museum, the clever Andrea Callahan's search for the thief, unaware that a betrayal from within her inner circle was fast approaching. Audrey lost her place for a moment when she looked up, surprised to see Celeste Cadwallader in the Ministry at all. Audrey knew where Cadwallader worked, she also knew that Cadwallader was assigned to monitor Diagon Alley; this assignment hardly gave her an opportunity to come in to the Ministry. Celeste, when not looking for local scum, was either at the Sneezing Snitch prowling for information, walking the streets or in her room at the Leaky Cauldron doing paperwork. Audrey's curiosity was roused.

"Of course sir," Cadwallader seemed stiffer than usual as she followed her boss into his office.

Audrey blinked a couple of times and paused for a few seconds before transfiguring a quill into a glass and running up to the door and pressing the glass against the keyhole. She made a note to find some extendable ears when she could get them.

The voice of the Head Enforcer echoed through the glass. "Cadwallader, I need to discuss this unsettling murder with you. We here at the Ministry find it very disturbing that such a heinous act was committed on the watch of one of our own Enforcers. I trusted you with the responsibility and hoped that you would be successful; at the moment I am not sure what to think. This is your first assignment and I was hoping you would do better considering we don't have the forces needed to send someone more experienced and nobody else wanted the job."

 _'Wanted?'_ Audrey's eyes narrowed, _'What is going on in this department? I was always under the impression that employees did as they were ordered…'_

"Wanted sir?" Celeste seemed to be voicing Audrey's thoughts. "I know the Enforcers have joined with the Aurors to find Death Eater activity but that would seem to raise _necessity_ of the people above the _wants_ of those in your employ."

Audrey found herself respecting Cadwallader a lot more. There was a pause that made Audrey catch her breath.

"I'll forget you said that Cadwallader." The Head Enforcer said slowly anger showing in his voice. "I'll move on to the other topic I wanted to discuss with you today. How is it that you are getting this mess of information by yourself? Half of these leads hardly seem possible considering that, according to your notes, the information was found at roughly the same time. How does that work? I thought I told you that I didn't want those people organized?"

_'Bastard…'_

"They are organized, sir, they were organized before you sent anyone there to deal with their problems. They're justifiably nosy, curious and distrustful of the Ministry. Most of what I hear is gossip from the local pubs. A lot of the shopkeepers and assistants like to go out and have a pint, some more than a pint but still…"

Audrey thought of Septimus and George and rolled her eyes. George was making noise about trying to take Septimus in a drinking contest for the esteemed title of Diagon Drunk. He was heavily intoxicated at the time and everyone else in the pub had just laughed at him.

“I have only asked the Diagon Watch to bring be anything relevant to local crime, not to actively investigate suspicious activity. Any trouble they get into while playing investigator is none of my concern.”

_'…None of my concern…'_

"So you are using them for information?"

Audrey felt her jaw tighten, and her hand moved down to rest on her holster. Audrey did not appreciate being used by anybody. _‘None of my concern…'_ It sounded like Cadwallader did not care as much as it seemed.

Audrey wanted to hit something, like Cadwallader's nose, though the Head Enforcer would be just as good of a target at the moment.

"What does it matter sir? I'm giving you leads that none of your other Enforcer's have given you. I'm giving you information that you can work with while the rest of your Enforcers are chasing down petty thefts; I have leads and information that look very promising.” Cadwallader’s voice grew louder with irritation, gaining power from her own indigence. “What exactly is it that you wanted to discuss with me about the manner in which I am working and getting the information you need? I see nothing wrong with these results or the method in which the information was obtained considering it seems accurate."

"It seems sloppy," Audrey swore she could hear him sweating.

"Maybe it would be more to your standards sir, if you had handled procedure properly for this assignment from the beginning. All first field assignments are to be observed by a senior ranking Enforcer during the rookie's first year on the job. I have been here for three years and this is my first field assignment, you waited because I reported you to the internal commission trying to shag the department secretary in the cold case cupboard."

Audrey's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. That was scandalous! Cadwallader had a pair that was for sure.

"You kept me at a desk ever since until this job came up. Mark my words, _sir;_ you will not be behind that desk forever."

Audrey had a feeling Cadwallader had the rather lofty goal of being the next Head Enforcer. She was having mixed feelings; Audrey did not want a repeat of the Diagon Enforcers fiasco. It sounded like the Head Enforcer had put Cadwallader in Diagon to watch her fail, Cadwallader was not failing and it must have made her boss crazy.

"Cadwallader, I may not be here forever that much is guaranteed, but who would want to put you behind my desk when I'm gone? What allies you have here in the Ministry consist of people who will not have any say when the time comes for me to retire. The young up-and-comers will not have power here for another few years; true one of your friends has a bit of influence, but not enough to sway the bureaucrats’ ears. Besides, during your first assignment a man was murdered and the killer is still running free, if he's not caught, then your future in this office is… _questionable."_

"Efforts to find the suspect are in progress."

"How can that be if you are here, no Enforcer in the alley? You seem to be using these organized locals for your own agenda, the citizens of Diagon Alley would not be pleased if they discovered this, would they?"

 _'No, they really wouldn't…'_ Audrey thought as she pressed her ear closer to the glass. Cadwallader had lied to them from the beginning; she said that the Ministry had wanted a force of locals who knew the area and the local thugs, but that did not appear to be the case at all. Cadwallader knew she was not going to get any help from her department, Russell establishing the Diagon Watch must have been a major boon for her. What really angered Audrey was the fact Cadwallader acted like she cared while she was using them, trying to get Serena off the streets, listening to the complaints of the people and settling disputes.

Audrey felt like a pawn. Like she was a chess piece that had just gotten smashed apart on the board.

Audrey leapt away from the door as Cadwallader was dismissed from the Head's office and dashed back to her seat attempting to look innocent as she buried herself back into her book. Audrey watched Cadwallader walk past the desk with a nod in Audrey's direction as she made her way back to the lift. Audrey stood and put the book in a desk drawer and followed Cadwallader to the lift.

They were alone in the silence of their own thoughts. Audrey turned to face Cadwallader cold anger reaching her voice. "What was that all about?"

"What was all what about?"

 _"Any trouble they get into while playing investigator is none of my concern."_ Audrey's voice had a high mocking edge to it; Cadwallader recoiled like a snake preparing to strike. "We're pawns to you right? You don't care about us; you just want to take that idiot out from behind the desk. You are using us. The Watch was such a boon for you."

“You don’t know anything.”

“Your big chance to prove yourself and your putrid boss set you up to fail. Must have really been a real stoke of luck to find out we had organized behind the Ministry’s back!”

“If you can’t handle the results of your eavesdropping, Causey, I recommend you stop doing so.”

“Learn some competent anti-eavesdropping spells, especially if you want to move up in this bureaucratic hellhole.”

Cadwallader’s jaw clenched. “I never told _any_ of you to go investigating on my behalf. I told you to bring me information for me to look at! I let you continue patrolling because I needed the help and none of you were going to cooperate otherwise! Diagon Alley does not trust the Ministry, we both know that! None of you have come forward to explain why!”

Audrey recoiled.

“Do you know why that is Audrey? I bet you do. There’s very little going on you and your people don’t know something about, but you don’t trust me to help you! I cannot prosecute without evidence or witnesses!”

“Don’t talk to me about trust Cadwallader, I know a lot more about that then you ever will.”

“Really? Because Russell Bennett helped centralize that distrust, I can’t say it wasn’t warranted, but he died for it.” Cadwallader crossed her arms in front of her chest, her gaze remaining fixed on Audrey. “From what you told me yesterday at Saint Mungo’s, Russell died because he did not trust me to handle anything important and he wanted to impress you.”

Impress her? Audrey was struggling to put those pieces together. That bet where if he won, he wanted a kiss. Was that part of it? The pieces were coming together fast and hard. Russell had liked her a lot more then Audrey ever knew.

Audrey was silent.

"I'm very sorry about Russell, but if you think you are the only one feeling guilty then you are very _wrong_." At the last word her voice cracked with a suppressed sob and she walked quickly into the lift.

The door closed behind her and Audrey slammed her fist on the wall.

Then came the sniffling.

Followed by silent tears as she tried to stay quiet through hyperventilating gasps.

She failed.

There was a sudden noise of heaving sobs as Audrey slumped to the floor and cried. She could not breathe and gasped for air before trying to start again only to not get enough air to even try. Every part of her ached, the room grew smaller. She felt weak and shaky and was so thankful the floor was empty for drills.

Why couldn’t she breath…!

Suddenly, the lift doors opened and Audrey immediately tried to stand up and tried too cover up her obvious breakdown. It was too late; Isra had already more then enough time to put her arm around Audrey's shoulders and guide her out away from the lift and down an empty corridor to the door that opened to the emergency stairwell and sit her down against the wall.

"It's alright," Isra murmured softly as she rubbed Audrey's back and shoulders before reaching for her hand and holding it gently. "Breathe with me okay?" Isra took a slow, deep breath, held it for a few moments and then released it slowly.

Audrey followed her lead and began to feel progressively calmer. Isra smiled and kept breathing with her for a few more minutes until Audrey’s breathing had slowed.

"Are you feeling better?"

Audrey nodded, then shook her head and felt herself slump against the wall.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Isra’s voice was soft and gentle, motherly really. "I'm willing to listen if you want to talk."

There was a violent shaking in Audrey's hands as the full force of what Isra had asked sank into her blood and bones. Isra's brown eyes were alight with worry and that her silence spoke of her honesty about her willingness to listen to Audrey pour out her heart and soul. The two women did not know each other very well, having the distant relationship of an employer and employee, but she made Audrey feel very safe and maybe that was the final prompt she needed.

"I'm not sure where to start."

Isra squeezed her hand and handed her a handkerchief from her breast pocket before adjusting her hijab. 

"Thank you." Audrey wiped under her eyes and then wrung the handkerchief in her hands before speaking again. "My friend was killed a couple of days ago… I was with him." She paused, waiting for Isra to chime in the way her family did but she remained silent and patient. There was not immediate offer of comfort or sympathy, just a kind woman extending a listening ear. "I saw the killer's face, sort-of, he was wearing a mask." Audrey began to shake. "And I just realized my friend may have died for the politics of a broken government." Audrey heaved a sigh and felt herself age thirty years as images flashed through her mind. "I can't do this again."

"Can't do what?"

There were images flashing through her mind of the fights she had won, the screams filled her ears and the smell of smoke and burning flesh flooded her senses, making her skin prickle and her mouth and nose burn. She stood up quickly causing Isra to lean back in shock and try to avoid the younger woman's flailing limbs as she got to her feet.

Her eyes were wide in terror as she suddenly found her wand in her hand.

"Audrey, were you involved in the war?"

There was Russell in a pool of his own blood. A large hole in his chest.

The Septenary burning.

The echoing words of a dead old woman’s prophesy filling her ears.

"I can't talk about this!" Audrey breathed before throwing herself towards the staircase that would take her back up to her desk on the second floor. She could vaguely hear Isra following her up the stairs but there was too much noise in her own head of being pursued by more vicious attackers. She reached for clarity at the edge of her mind and turned to face Isra who suddenly stopped. "Isra, thank you, but I just- please I- please j-just leave me alone!" She stated with a soft, panicked tone before reaching her destination and slamming the door to the second floor behind her leaving Isra behind.

Isra did not follow and for that, Audrey was thankful.

* * *

The Sneezing Snitch's door was barred shut with a large sign proclaiming its closure for the second night in a row. The roughest crowd was not too pleased; the locals who wanted to get sloshed without being judged was begging for the door to open.

"C'mon Scully, please…" One cried as he knocked on the door again. He had been to a couple of different pubs this evening and was quite intoxicated.

A chair flew out of the upstairs flat and almost landed on top of the crowd.

"Maybe we'll take our business elsewhere gentlemen."

The crowd's voices rose as they began to talk about things that would only make sense to the intoxicated mind until a shrill voice came from behind them.

"What is going on out here?"

The crowd turned slowly and gave identical shrieks of "Mumma Scully!" and ran away from the Sneezing Snitch as fast as they could manage without tripping over one another. This left only one kneeling in front of the door banging on it slowly and steadily.

The tiny woman known as Mumma Scully stood behind the kneeling man, "I suggest you go home young man, you appear to have had too much to drink."

The man looked back at her, blinking owlishly. "But I haven't had anything to drink yet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're not supposed to move someone who is having a panic episode, but it might be more compassionate to do so, not leaving them in a public space to be gawked at.
> 
> Lot of stuff going on here and Audrey was long overdue for a breakdown of some sort. 
> 
> Sloan's a creep. Let's get that out there. 
> 
> Isra is a sweetheart.
> 
> Cadwallader knows some stuff.
> 
> Grief and anger can warp ones perceptions of reality, it makes one quick to lash out without a full picture of grasp of the picture.


	16. Spiral

_July 7th 1998_

"Henry," Isra closed the door to behind her as she stepped into his office, "I'm glad you got Audrey to take that time off."

Henry set his paper aside and sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "After what she's been through, she should've let me know and taken another couple of days. I wouldn't have asked any questions." Henry motioned Isra to come closer to his desk. Isra summoned a stool from the corner for her to sit on. Henry's voice was deep and rose with quickly with anger. "I don't give a damn what that Sloan says, you do not interrogate my employees without my presence, some hard evidence or my consent!"

Isra nodded and adjusted her headscarf. "Is that why you sent Lucia home as well?"

"Partially, Audrey and Lucia are very close and I don't see them associating with the rest of the staff very much. It's good to have at least one close friend in your life, but…"

"Audrey's a Muggle-born, right? Henry, I think they got in over their heads during the war; they've both got a haunted look in their eyes."

"Everyone looks haunted these days, Isra."

Isra bit her tongue, she would try and talk to Audrey later when she was back at work and a bit more emotionally sound. Biscuits and tea usually worked with her children.

"So, what are we going to do about Sloan? I don't want him to come down here and harass anyone in a paranoid moment."

"I'm going to talk to the Minister in a few days, Isra. It was the first opening I could get, the department heads are fighting for time all over. I'll give you a copy of my schedule, just in case something comes up you can go in my place."

"I do _not_ want _him_ bothering them when they come back." Isra's brow knitted in anger as she clenched her fist in her robe. "Sloan was really out of line. Though I hear Audrey gave him a fright when she started tearing into his faulty argument."

"I let him have a piece of my mind after I heard about it too. None of that was called for!” Henry gripped his wand tightly. “I made sure there were witnesses to that too; I caught him in the hallway on the way to lunch. A big part of the reason I even got the meeting time with the Minister is Arthur Weasley and that son of his who works with Shacklebolt," Henry paused, "What's his name? There's so many Weasleys I can barely keep them straight."

Isra tapped her foot against the side of the desk. "Um… Will? Ron? Perry?" She hit the desk with the palm of her hand, "Percy!"

"That's it! This is why you're my deputy head!" Henry settled back in his chair and continued where he had left off. "Now I'm laying into Sloan, the Weasleys walk by and catch me in the middle of my dressing down as I am telling him and I quote…" Henry coughed.

Isra adjusted herself on her seat. Henry liked to tell stories and he got very animated about it.

Henry pointed his finger aggressively at an imaginary Sloan on the other side of his desk. "How dare you interrogate one of my best employees without telling me or any kind of evidence to use against her! Is how I started, Sloan backed up a step, I had come out of nowhere and the crowd's starting to form and the interns are popping out from behind of their desks like gophers.”

Isra started to laugh.

"Sloan sputters something and I just keep talking over him. I mention Audrey by name and Percy-" Henry paused, "How do they know each other?"

Isra covered her mouth; "I think they have a friend in common, Townsend from one of the fifth floor departments. What happened next?"

"Well, Percy was livid! Next thing I know he's next to me shoving the Minister's planner into my hands and telling me to put my name on the first available date if I wanted to meet with the Minister and sort this out properly and he starts threatening Sloan with bureaucratic red tape. He was surprisingly calm about it. Sloan popped off and told Percy that as the internal investigator, he had a right to investigate anyone he found suspicious regardless of rank. Percy told him he had the rest of the afternoon free if Sloan cared to poke around his brain."

Isra gasped and almost fell off her stool. "He _didn't!"_

"He did! Sloan told him to come by his office after lunch if he was serious about that offer and promptly turned on his heel and skulked back to his office."

"Do you know if Weasley went?" Isra had her hands placed flat on the desk, her dark eyes wide as she was getting sucked into the end of the story.

"He told me he was going, he said he had nothing to hide. Percy went downstairs to eat and I started catching up with Arthur who was just as confused about his son's reaction as I was. Apparently, he's usually a little smarter about making enemies."

Isra exhaled the breath she had been holding. Those girls apparently, for all of their secrets, had a large network of people who cared about them. That made Isra relax slightly, Audrey had a good support system and did not have just one strong shoulder to support her in troubled times.

Isra wondered if Audrey knew how far that web was spread.

* * *

"Package for Mister Lowell," a voice said loudly from the door to the Leaky Cauldron. "A delivery from Gringotts for Mister Lowell." It was a goblin speaking as he levitated a medium sized crate into the inn bringing much attention to himself as he did so. Audrey looked up from the table and recognized a goblin she and Septimus were on friendly terms with, if one could ever call relations with a goblin friendly. He noticed Audrey and walked over levitating the package. "Miss Causey, where's your drunk of a boss?"

"Sorry Raguk, he went out to the library. Would you like me to take this up to his room for you? I don't want you getting caught in one of his traps."

The goblin blinked looking nervous as he considered the offer. "Take it; I'll just need you to sign for it." He whipped out a piece of parchment and a quill. "Sign on the dotted line please."

Audrey signed the parchment as she and Raguk made some short conversation before he went back to the bank. As he left, she waved her wand bringing the package up the stairs behind her as she apologized to the people who banged their heads on the crate as a result of inattentiveness. She arrived at Septimus' room and looked at it wearily as she placed the crate next to her and rested the palm of her hand against the door closing her eyes and relaxing. She was looking for something attached to the opening of the door, Septimus was pretty powerful and one could usually tell if he had hexed something like a doorknob to explode on contact if they were careful to check. He had done it before. Audrey had not forgotten it.

Nothing obvious, Audrey stepped back realizing this had just gotten more difficult. Taking her wand out of her pocket, Audrey tapped on the door seven times causing the door to glow a soft blue for a moment before fading just as quickly. She then reached for the doorknob slowly and opened the door wand still drawn and muttering an incantation for revealing of spells. Every other floorboard in the room lit up. Audrey winced. Septimus was always through. _Painfully_ through, she had a couple of small scars to prove it.

Audrey kneeled down and wrenched a loose nail out of the floorboard beneath her, cast a couple of duplication spells on it and threw one into the center of the room where it promptly disintegrated. Audrey's eyes widened, she knew the spell, she just had to break it and make sure Septimus did not use anything else to ensure pain for anyone who tried to come in for something. She broke down his trip jinxes and then set to work dismantling his small blasting charms. Septimus was an extremely paranoid human being, but Audrey supposed he had his reasons. She was sure he had made some enemies in his lifetime. Still, that was no reason to scare off the housekeeping staff; Audrey doubted any of them were assassins or anything of that nature.

She levitated the crate into the air as she stepped softly into the room; just waiting for something she missed to go off beneath her feet. Nothing happened after those first few tentative steps and Audrey began to walk for confidently through the room as she placed the crate on the table and examined it closely. There was a soft light coming from the inside, Audrey peered through the crack for a closer look but reeled back just as quickly. Audrey tapped the box causing it to spring open. She answered Septimus' mail most of the time so it could be check for the odd spell, meaning she opened every letter and received the packages sorting them into the junk, rubbish, and useful information piles. Opening a crate was nothing new.

Audrey sucked in a breath, it was so pretty. It was a ceramic bowl with painted pictures that looked like those done by a small child around the edges. Audrey ran her hands along the edge feeling the chip that cut deeply into the side. It must have been dropped at some point. She leaned closer to the glowing silver material inside of the bowl and felt herself falling…

Falling…

_Audrey had found herself standing in a large, expansive library. The shelves seemed to reach the ceiling and Audrey was left in awe as she looked at some of the elaborate covers, she reached out to touch them and found her hand going through the shelf. She reeled back in horror, what kind of place was this? Audrey turned to find a table with a rather handsome young man a couple of years younger than Audrey sitting at the table._

" _I'm sorry; could you tell me where I am please?"_

_The man ignored her and continued his reading. Audrey walked closer to the table for a better look. He had black hair and a stern air about him, he seemed very familiar. Audrey walked next to the young man and peered at his face intensely. The man had a firm straight nose where a pair of glasses was resting, an average mouth, calm silver-gray eyes, and caterpillar eyebrows. The eyebrows struck a chord in Audrey's memory somewhere._

_He dipped his peacock feather quill in ink well and began to take notes. Audrey leaned over for a better look; he appeared to be doing a paper on Arithmancy. It looked like a difficult problem, but it looked like the young man almost had it solved. He smiled as he reached the final answer of seven._

" _My favorite number," the man said quietly, his voice sounded familiar also._

" _Septimus?" Audrey reached out to put a hand on his shoulder and found it go right through him. The image of what the young Septimus would look like years from now filled her mind, wrinkled and haggard from stress and drink. "Well, boss I guess you didn't age to gracefully." Young Septimus continued working. "I guess you can't hear me then." She looked at the date of the paper. "1943!"_

_Footsteps sounded behind her. "Pius, Father wants to see you." It was a little boy who looked to be about four or five years old._

" _The study again, Amatus?"_

_The little boy nodded as Septimus, or Pius, (whoever he was), rose from his chair and tucked his book under his arm and fixed his glasses before picking up the parchment and tucking it into his robes. Audrey followed him out of the library and down a long corridor only populated by a couple of house elves who bowed as he passed. He moved with elegance that Audrey did not associate with his older self; his steps were light and quick over the marble floors. She matched him step for step before he arrived at a large oak door. Audrey shivered; Pius raised his hand and knocked firmly on the door._

" _Come in." The voice sounded commanding. Pius did as he was ordered and walked inside._

_The study was similar to the library with the many books; except for the fact Audrey thought it was a little too dark and drab for reading. Pius seemed to share her opinion as he lit a few of the nearby candles on his way to the desk and glanced around the room in disgust. "You wanted to see me father?"_

_Audrey laughed, "I thought you told me you sprung fully formed from the forehead of Zeus."_

" _Yes, I wanted to speak to you about something important." The man looked very official as he leaned over the desk to take a better look at his son, and Audrey could see the family resemblance. Pius would look very much like his father a few years down the line. "Let's talk about your future."_

_Pius looked disgruntled, "Not this again. We have had the same conversation for years."_

" _Pius," the man's tone of voice was a harsh warning. Pius quickly grew silent as his hand rested on his pocket. "Now, as you know from your studies into wizarding genealogy, we are from an old powerful family listed among the sacred twenty-eight." As the older man turned to face the curtained windows, Pius began mouthing along with each word he said with a sarcastic finger movement. "As purebloods it should be our rightful place as leaders in our world. To lead muggles and those of lesser blood to greatness and glory under the rule of purebloods like ourselves. As Pius Sebastian Selwyn, my eldest son and heir, you will learn the family business-"_

" _Of philanthropy, and Ministry arse-kissing," Pius murmured to Audrey's hearing._

_Audrey giggled._

" _Of being a man of business within the Ministry," Mr. Selwyn finished. He turned to face his eldest son, who straightened up in what appeared to Audrey as less than a second. "You will accompany me tomorrow." Pius grew rigid. "We will be there by eight. Are we clear Pius?"_

" _Yes sir," Audrey knew that look, it was one of displeasure. Mr. Selwyn appeared not to notice as he sat down at the desk to continue working._

_The memory swirled and disappeared until Audrey found herself someplace familiar. The second floor of the Ministry which was apparently all these years ago was still focused on Law Enforcement. Though her they seemed rushed and worried, perhaps because this was the time when Grindelwald was in power. He would not be defeated for another couple of years, funny how wizarding and muggle wars seemed to coincide. Audrey had wondered how that worked._

_She was walking beside Pius who was following his father looking bored out of his mind. His expression was completely blank except for the occasions when Audrey caught his eyes moving towards the ceiling as his father stopped to talk to a high ranking official whose portrait Audrey had seen around the Ministry in her time._

"… _And Grindelwald's forces are here," THWACK! "Here," THWACK! "And let's not forget Holland this time." THWACK!_

_Pius turned his attention to the cubicle where the small group of Aurors was meeting looking very interested, far more interested than he was in his father's pledging of monetary support to a re-election campaign. Pius looked calculating as he examined the map that was covered in multicolored pins. He tilted his head a bit and looked at the Aurors with interest._

" _Pius!"Mr. Selwyn called, dragging Audrey and Pius from the discussion about the war. "There's a warlock on the Wizengamot I want you to meet before we leave today."_

_Pius cringed._

_Audrey yelped as the ground suddenly gave way beneath her, she instinctively reached up to grab at the hem of Pius's robes only to watch her hand go right through him as she fell into an abyss of sounds and vibrant colors._

_Down…_

_An echo of voices discussing political upheaval raced through her mind, though she could not entirely understand what was being said._

_Deeper…_

_Then came the lurching stop that put Audrey's heart in her throat as the scene around her began to settle into something comforting and familiar._

" _I'm late! Newbrook's going to kill me!"_

_Diagon Alley was nearly deserted despite it being nearly the middle of the afternoon. Pius was running at a pace that Audrey had never associated with him before and she was struggling to keep pace with him. He turned quickly and bounded up the steps of a rather rundown boarding house on a section of the street that Audrey could associate quite easily with the present era._

" _This is…!" Audrey followed Pius inside at a run, her chest constricting with memories of her own._

_The main floor that would become the Septenary's sales floor was bare except for the fireplace and the soft comfortable looking chairs around it. There were paintings and portraits that were admonishing Pius for his tardiness as he took the stairs three at a time while he shouted at them to shut up. He bypassed the kitchen which Audrey could smell something warm and fragrant cooking._

" _Biscuits? Really Septimus, you can't stop for a biscuit?" Audrey's stomach rumbled loudly. "I'm hungry."_

_She continued following Pius up the stairs until he reached a room that years' from now would be Audrey's bedroom and opened the door with a bang. Half of the occupants stood wand drawn and ready, other began packing up an assortment of maps and charts. They lowered their wands once they realized who it was._

" _Selwyn, I thought I told you not to be late." The voice came from a rather weedy looking man who was one of those who had drawn their wands. He had large bulbous eyes that seemed to protrude from his face. "It's highly inconvenient."_

_This was the first time Audrey had ever seen Septimus resembling anything close to cowed. "I'm sorry Mr. Newbrook; my father dragged me off to the Ministry to kiss the arses of high-ranking officials."_

_Some of the meetings attendees laughed other rolled their eyes._

_Pius began digging around inside his robes. "Perhaps this will make up for my tardiness." He pulled out a piece of parchment that was covered in names that Audrey recognized as those of notable purebloods and some whose descendants would become Death Eaters. "On this list are names of those who are supporting Grindelwald's efforts for domination over the muggles. I can personally confirm each person's degree of involvement considering my mother had them over for tea the other day."_

_One of the women at the table laughed, "Is the_ charming _Mrs. Selwyn trying to find a suitable match for her eldest son?"_

_Pius scowled as one of the men joined in. "Oh, Tabby, Mrs. Selwyn may be charming, but I really can't say the same for her eldest son."_

" _Shut it!" Pius snapped as he went a bright shade of red that caused everyone else to laugh._

_Audrey snickered as Pius adjusted his glasses and turned his attentions out the window._

" _So, how is my cousin? Have you spoken to her lately?" The woman called Tabby asked as adjusted herself in the chair and removed a stray hair from her robes._

_Pius blushed, "S-She's fine! I'm going to visit her tomorrow."_

_One of the other women in the room sighed and mockingly fluttered her eyes at him, "It's nice to see you being soft about someone."_

_Pius rolled his eyes, "I am not_ soft _in any capacity, now are we going to have this meeting or not?"_

_Tabby rolled her eyes, “Lowell, give the kid the papers.”_

_Newbrook threw Pius several rolled up pieces of parchment and watched him fumble the catch several times with a playful smirk._

_The room tilted and spiraled, causing Audrey to feel like she was riding the winds of a violent storm. The soft laugh of a young woman filled Audrey's ears before the swirl of colors came into focus. She was pretty, slender with a round pleasant face, her sandy blonde hair in a long braid down her back, "Laurel made that for you, what do you think?"_

" _It's cute, now I just need to think of something to use it for. How about a table center piece, Kitty?" Pius looked happy, and acted a little more tired than a man his age had any right to, but he looked very happy. The kind of happiness that grew from the inside. It was disturbing._

_Audrey's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, this was Kitty?_

_She was to pretty for him._

" _Why not just use it for decoration?" Kitty giggled and lightly moved her hand up and down the top of his thigh. "Put it on the mantle, maybe?"_

" _No, no, everything can be used for something. I always like to see my gifts used." Pius stopped and took Kitty's hand in his and leaned in closer. "You look beautiful tonight."_

_Audrey mimed gagging, though she had heard worse pick-up lines._

_There was another sound from behind Audrey, it sounded like a little girl making noises of disgust._ "Eww." _She was a cute little thing, dark hair and big brown eyes like a doe._

 _Pius jumped back and stared at the fire to try and pull himself together while Kitty looked over the back of the couch at her daughter._ " _Laurel, sweetie, I thought you were asleep."_

" _Couldn't sleep, can I stay up with you and dad. Pretty please?" She ran to stand in front of her parents and wore the smile of a small child trying to get her way, pouty lips and clasped hands. Judging by the look on Pius' face it seemed to be working. Kitty seemed to be sterner._

" _Laurel, it's past your bedtime," Kitty said as she rose from the couch. "Come on." Kitty took her hand led her to the back of the house where the bedrooms must have been located._

" _But mumma-"_

" _No buts." Pius watched them walk away with a smile as he ran his hands over the edge of the same bowl that Audrey had just seen in the crate._

_Everything suddenly began to spiral and a scream echoed through the memory. The Dark Mark was over the pleasant looking home that Audrey had just been inside of. Pius was being physically restrained by a couple of Aurors who were telling him to get back and stay where he was. Audrey felt herself begin to tremble. It was so vivid._

" _My wife and daughter are in there! Let me go, Warren!" Pius shouted as he struggled to get out of the burly man's grip._ "KITTY! LAUREL!"

_He managed to break out of Warren's grip and tried to run forward, but his leg gave out from under him and he fell into the dirt. He grabbed his cane off the ground next to him and tried again but was stopped by Warren. Pius turned on his heel and smacked Warren in the head with his cane and rushed towards his home. Audrey felt herself getting pulled along against her will._

_The next image was of Pius bent over his wife and daughter's body's holding their hands and sobbing uncontrollably._

Suddenly, this wasn't fun anymore…

_The scene before her was something that seemed far more modern then the past memories Audrey had seen. They were standing in the hall on the second floor where Law Enforcement was housed within the Ministry. Audrey was standing behind Septimus as he had cornered a rather burly man against the wall. This seemed more like the Septimus she knew, walking stick, flask of whiskey hanging off his belt and shaggy looking grey hair. He was swaying back and forth on the balls of his feet appearing intoxicated. Audrey was sure he was._

" _I got this letter yesterday ev'ning, it seems ta be under the impression t'at you're closin’ my case." He swaggered as a crowd gathered around them. One of the Enforcers stepped forward and the man Septimus had cornered shook his head and waved him back. The Enforcer complied._

" _Be reasonable Pius," The man said calmly as Septimus lifted his walking stick and rested the end of it next to the man's head. Audrey could see the man sweating._

 _"Not Pius Selwyn, never Pius Selwyn. That man is_ dead. _I'm Septimus Lowell now."_

" _Right, right, I forgot about that. We don't have the manpower to go after every twenty year old cold case involving a muggle woman and a child. Nearly all of the suspects in your family's murder are dead, now step back please."_

 _Septimus complied, "Not all of 'em are dead. I told ya, that it was my_ family _doing some pruning of the family tree."_

_Septimus stepped back, head down and walking stick helping to hold him upright, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He turned his back to the man he had been intimidating. The man relaxed for a moment his motions to his fellows seeming to be ones saying he was fine, until Septimus whipped himself around and punched the man in the face. He was struck so hard his head bounced off the wall behind him._

_Audrey cringed. She turned away from the sight to see a boy with bright red hair and glasses watching the scene with an inquisitive look, Septimus looked at him as the crowd rushed to the aid of the bleeding man on the floor._

_"The hell ya lookin' at boy. Get lost."_

_The boy staggered back and took off down the hall looking terrified._

_Septimus rolled his eyes, "Spine like a noodle, future bureaucrat that one."_

The scene faded as Audrey felt herself roughly being pulled out of the bowl by the back of her robes. She staggered back to find Septimus looking livid, Audrey felt her back scrape against the bedpost. She knew things now that disturbed and frightened her. Kitty was his wife, and he had a daughter named Laurel, both had been murdered and the case had grown cold.

That look in Septimus’ eyes was an unnatural, otherworldly anger, reminding Audrey she was in a confined space with the most powerful warlock of her acquaintance. Audrey hoped she would never see it again.

"Whatever you saw in there, forget all about it, it does not concern you." He was breathing heavily and gripping his cane so hard his knuckles were turning white. "Now _get out!"_

“I-I’m sorry…” Audrey stepped back towards the door slowly; hands held up with the palms facing Septimus like one would do if backing away from an enraged animal. "Why didn't you tell us, we could have-"

"Could have done what? It was before your time." He walked forward until he stood only a couple of inches away from Audrey, peering down at her from his greater height. "Not a word, not a word to anyone, is that clear?"

Audrey nodded, never feeling more scared of Septimus then she had in that moment. "N-not a word, sir." She took a step back; Septimus took a step forward to maintain a threatening position and tower over Audrey.

"I don't want to see you, I don't want you around, is that clear."

There is a kind of boldness that comes with personal knowledge about another person's life. "You had a family, why didn't you ever tell me?"

Septimus's face contorted into something more beast then man. _"It was none of your business!"_

"I trusted you with my past and you couldn’t extend the same courtesy? I told you things I’ve never even told _Lucia!_ I had a right to know you’re just like me!”

Septimus slammed his cane on the floor and his voice rose and caused Audrey to recoil back and hit the door behind her with alarming force. "WE ARE NOTHING ALIKE!"

Audrey was to terrified to do anything other then press herself against the door as much as she was able.

"My family is dead, _murdered_ , and your father hated you so much he left you behind and _got on with his life!_ "

Audrey's eyes watered and there was a sharp stabbing pain in her chest before a wave of rage consumed her mind.

Septimus continued. "Something you're to weak to do yourself!"

Weak? _WEAK!_

"At least I didn't try to drown my sorrows in drink and sarcasm!" Audrey's finger found itself poking Septimus in the chest repeatedly as her voice began to rise to an unpleasant shrillness. "Hiding behind your books and refusing the world beyond your walls, even though the people on the other side of the door clearly care about you! I have never shut myself away from the world like you did!"

Septimus slammed his cane to the floor again like a judge's gavel, Audrey’s elbow slammed into the door. Septimus’ voice echoed through the room and into the hall as he continued his tirade; he stopped yelling but his voice was no less angry or embittered.

" _YOU'VE BEEN NOTHING BUT A BURDEN TO ME!”_

" _I WAS WILLING TO DIE IN YOUR NAME!"_

Like a good little soldier.

“I should have sent you to the continent. You were never built for war, to soft-“

Audrey started to tremble, her eyes wide as what Septimus was saying as she clutched her stinging elbow.

 _“Soft!”_ Audrey fired back, “Who tracked that Snatcher group and saved those people while you were drying out in the woods? Who rescued the Garlands when the Death Eaters got to their doorstep? Who did Aberforth call when the last battle started and came out alive while you were cooling your heels in Azkaban?”

Septimus began to speak but Audrey cut him off quickly.

“We ambushed an Azkaban transport to try and rescue you after we firebombed Umbridge’s bloody house! Soft, Septimus? Is that really what you think?”

His voice dropped to a low, hissing, whisper but never lost its rage and ferocity.

“You had no right to go through my memories!”

“No, I didn’t, but you never talk about yourself! You never talk about anything!”

There was something inside of Septimus, a part of him that did not want anyone to breech the walls that he used to keep people at a distance. The lack of communication was so frustrating at points; perhaps it was what drove off the six apprentices before Audrey.

" _I never should have taken you in!"_

She opened the door and fled from the room with a dry sob and slammed the door behind her with a shuddering crash.

The corridor was empty except for a stunned looking Cappie who had pressed himself against the wall. Audrey blew past the boy and into to her and Lucia's bedroom. Lucia was away and Audrey found herself slumping to the floor of her empty room, shaking and crying.

She had meant every word that had passed her lips. She was sure Septimus had as well.

Audrey had never felt so utterly alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henry Dawson is a good boss. Isra is the department mom. Together, they fight crime.
> 
> Percy fights with paperwork and procedure. 
> 
> Audrey getting into Septimus's room is a metaphor for getting over or through the walls that people put up. Sort of. He's also just paranoid and the housekeepers fear him. 
> 
> Septimus named himself after his favorite number and took the first name of one of his mentors, Lowell Newbrook who the created the organization called the Seven and was the original owner of the Septenary. Lot of history in that burned out husk. 
> 
> This is a story full of foils.


	17. Advice

_July 9th 1998_

Serena Scoresby rarely sat around and moped. She thought it was rather disgusting that other girls her age would do such a thing for meager things like shoes. Serena actually moped about bigger problems. A couple of weeks ago she had been forced to move due to that nosy Causey person and that string bean ginger hanging around in front of her hideout. It was better to leave, they knew where she was. Grabbing her few possessions, Serena made her way into the back of Knockturn Alley behind a creepy restaurant and created a temporary shelter in a wooden crate.

Exploring the area had led Serena to a couple of other thieves like her who thought she was harmless and stupid and began to brag about all of the best places to pick pockets. Serena thought they were stupid for telling her those things. Now all of the items she had stolen were sold to a local pawnshop to buy some clothes and food or traded for some small butterfly knives that she was throwing against a crate for target practice. Serena thought that she did not need a wand to be dangerous; everyone carried a wand and would expect one to be used. Throwing knives on the other hand…

She fingered the pocket watch she was wearing around her neck; it was the same one she had snatched from the string bean ginger. It had too much use at the moment to sell; she liked knowing what time it was, it made committing her crimes easier if she knew the times when the rush hour crowds came into town. The necklace she was wearing was a very deceiving piece. The charm at the end was the hilt of a small poisoned knife.

There were only a few more days until her plan would be put into action. Sergius Sloan was going to pay with his life.

Blood for blood. Murder for murder.

* * *

For two days Lucia had watched her family network split apart and begin to simultaneously go down in flames. It was strange and horrifying. Uncle Septimus was not speaking to Audrey, which was just weird to begin with; he always liked to talk with her. Audrey had grown melancholy and slightly depressed, she just was not as lively, and Lucia doubted that all of it had to do with Russell's death. The delicate threads of this fire-forged clan were beginning to unravel, and all Lucia could do was watch.

"Got any sevens?" Cappie asked from across the table, the cards fanned in front of his face obscuring his mouth and the brim of his hat hiding his eyes. Creepy child.

Lucia sighed, "Cappie, for the thousandth time, we are not playing Go Fish; I am trying to teach you how to play poker," She thumped her chest for emphasis. "A man's card game."

"I'm ten, and Audie said she thinks I'm too young to gamble. Also that if you try to teach me then I'm supposed to tell her so she can burn your books."

"I have a seven…" Lucia mumbled as she gave Cappie the card.

Cappie grinned as he took the card, "How about any aces?"

"No, now, do you have any fours?"

"Go fish," Cappie said and he matched one new pair of sevens in front of him and adjusted the cards in his hand. Unaware that Fowler was watching the game with interest and looking at Cappie's hand.

"You little hustler," Fowler said flatly causing Cappie to jump. "You just can't help yourself can you?"

Lucia looked stunned, "Cheating at Go Fish, really Cappie?"

"Hey, I got money riding on this game." Cappie pointed at the small pile of money sitting next to the deck in the center of the table.

"So do I!"

"I'm broke."

"So am I!"

* * *

While Cappie and Lucia bickered and gambled over a children's card game, Audrey found herself walking through Diagon Alley. She was thinking, not an uncommon occurrence, but wandering idly seemed to be a new habit. There seemed to be more interesting things going on around Diagon Alley by the day.

Just yesterday, Lucia and Audrey had been taking a stroll after staying late at work for a physical and had found a crowd hurrying into the nearest shop to escape from a voice coming from the Wheeze's upstairs flat. It was rough, scratchy, and seemed to have the ability to shatter glass if put to the proper use. Perhaps George was experimenting by shoving a frog into a muggle blender. Lucia said it sounded like a Hippogriff's mating call. It did not matter in the long run; they ended their walk immediately after that. Discovering later that evening from a rather intoxicated George that Percy had borrowed his shower because his hot water was not working at his flat.

Audrey prayed the singing in the shower bit was a rare occurrence.

Audrey's eye twitched at the recollection. _'My Bewitching Girl'_ was not something to be sung while sober, it was all over the wireless, but Audrey heard it sung frequently in the local pubs. A sort of pub ditty with wider appeal apparently.

Continuing her idle plan free walk, Audrey found a familiar figure bartering with one of the stall keepers over a couple of items. She had seen Percy earlier that day with a dark haired woman. Just talking.

" _This whole establishment is a mess don't you think?" Audrey heard the woman say smoothly as she leaned against the wall of the lift and filled through some papers. "This is the third time today that I've had to hand deliver important messages to the intended floor. It is a real waste of time."_

_"I agree, though I have only had that happen to me once today. Mostly I get letters that include curses and threatening messages." Percy shuddered, "The last one spontaneously combusted." He looked at the tips of his fingers which looked to be a bit singed._

_Audrey walked into the lift with an amused smile as she looked at the woman wearily._

_The woman laughed quietly, her laugh had a throaty quality that irritated Audrey for some reason._

_Audrey quickly changed her mind about the lift, sparing a quick nod to Percy and the woman and stepped out of the to take the stairs down to the library back entrance._

_Seven long flights of stairs made for a very peevish walk._

Audrey walked over and watched Percy continue haggling over a set of law books and a twenty-four case of sober-up.

"I will not pay a knut over the galleon and three sickles that I have offered for the sober-up. I'll pay your price for the law books."

"Two galleons and three sickles for the sober-up at least, this stuff is stronger then anything the Apothecary can brew." The stall-keep said sternly as his brow became dotted with sweat.

Audrey suppressed a smirk; this was one of the toughest dealmakers in the Alley. Most people who haggled with him just gave up and paid full price. This must have been going on for a while if he was starting to get anxious.

"I'll raise you two sickles."

"Deal." He gave him the goods, "Get lost."

"Thank you."

Audrey giggled, catching Percy's attention.

He paused and turned his head in her direction. "Hello Audrey."

"Hello Percy, how are you?" He looked exhausted, the dark shadows under his eyes just highlighted how tired and run down he was. Audrey doubted she was in much better shape.

"Fine, fine." He smiled, she smiled back playing along with the lie as they started walking down the street. "Yourself?"

"Good," Audrey kept staring at the ground. She needed a distraction, she wanted him to keep talking, and she did not care what he would talk about.

Percy started talking about work, about some of the new policies that Minister Shacklebolt was trying to put through. She smiled; she recognized that same passion, (or obsession), she had for her own work back at the shop. If Audrey had her way the Septenary would be rebuilt as soon as possible, though work seemed unlikely to begin on reconstruction until this time next year. Her fists clenched, she would love to find the man who had burned down her shop during the riot.

She never noticed Percy had stopped talking about work and was looking at her with concern. "How's your father?"

“Dead hopefully.”

_“What?”_

“I hope he chokes on a pretzel.”

Percy spoke slowly and thoughtfully, “That’s… very specific.”

“You haven’t met him, it’d be earned.”

Percy’s brow furrowed in confusion as he reached up to adjust his glasses.

Audrey kicked a rock down the street.

“Yes I have.”

It took a moment for Audrey to comprehend who he was talking about. She thought he was talking about Aran Causey for a moment. That was awkward. "Oh, you mean Septimus. He's not my father."

Percy looked confused. "What?"

"Old drunk bloke, thick eyebrows, not my father." The corners of Audrey's mouth turned upwards as she took in Percy’s still confused expression. Why was she getting so much enjoyment out of that look? "My father walked out when I was a kid and my grandparents raised me, so I really have no idea how my father is."

"I thought…" He trailed off.

_He acts like a dad. Yeah, he does._

“Really Percy?” Audrey raised an eyebrow and smiled playfully. “We don’t look anything alike. He’s probably more closely related to you.”

Percy looked like he sincerely doubted it and was horrified by the mere joke of it.

"Septimus is my," Audrey struggled momentarily for the right word as she started to explain, "mentor. Before I started working for the Ministry, I was apprenticed to Mr. Lowell at his shop; I ran the bookshop while he researched an origin of magical power. I studied in the evenings; it was part of my contract for a seven year apprenticeship." Audrey's smiled widened, "I love what I did, and I can't wait until I can get back to it full time."

If Septimus wanted her back anyway…

Percy looked uncomfortable. Audrey could not understand why. It seemed perfectly normal to her. "How's Mr. Lowell then?"

Audrey shrugged and looked at her feet. She opened and closed her mouth like some kind of fish as she tried to find the right words. "We're not exactly on speaking terms at the moment."

The urge to just tell the whole story was very strong, but Audrey bit her tongue. She was not going to get into the old man's personal business. That was what had gotten her in trouble in the first place.

"I got nosy and might have gotten into something I shouldn't have."

Understatement.

A complete understatement.

"Maybe you should apologize," he said as they stopped at one of the fruit stands.

"Apologize?" Audrey laughed bitterly, "I did. After what he said to me, he needs to apologize to me before I go crawling back!"

Percy put a hand on her shoulder and guided her to a walled in garden in front of a vacant herbalists shop so they could sit down. Audrey was not sure what to think of the gesture; it was a warm, friendly one that made her stomach flip as they sat down on the wall.

"What did he say to you, if you don't mind me asking?"

She looked up at him and noted the worried crease in his brow and the fact his hand was still on her shoulder. When their eyes met he removed his hand from her shoulder and started playing with the handles on his bag.

"He said I was nothing but a burden to him. Among other things… I wasn't very complementary either. I basically called him a drunk and a shut in."

While Percy's gaze was encouraging, his shoulders seemed tense, like he was carrying a heavy burden of his own, something that weighed heavily on his mind that he was used to carrying around.

She leaned back to crack her shoulders before moving back to her original position.

Percy and Audrey sat in silence for a few moments, consumed in their own thoughts and watching the people walk by. Audrey was waiting for him to get up and say he had to go do something for his brother, but the words never came.

"It sounds like you both need to talk."

Audrey rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with distain. "There is no _talking_ with him. He's stubborn, overly sarcastic, and… He doesn't talk about his personal life unless he finds it amusing." Audrey paused and folded her hands in her lap. "I've known him and worked with him for almost three years and honestly, I barely know him because he doesn't talk about anything!"

Percy was quiet and Audrey sank back into a melancholy silence. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck for a few moments before his spoke, clearly picking his words very carefully. Audrey focused her gaze on the people walking by.

"You two clearly have more to talk about then just the fight you had. It sounds like the issues you brought up have been close to the surface for some time."

"Not entirely, he knows everything about me and I know next to nothing about him aside from how brilliant he is. He just diverts my questions when I ask him things or doesn't answer at all."

Audrey looked over him and he was giving her a very surveying look that made Audrey feel very uncomfortable as a defensive rage began to simmer in her gut.

"You both can't just ignore each other."

"Why not?" Audrey's lips curled in an animalistic snarl.

Percy was silent and was looking blankly ahead while he drummed his fingers on the bag containing the sober-up for his brother and his law books.

His contemplative demeanor annoyed her. In Audrey's mind it felt like judgment of her life and choices in her relationships. Her choices in this matter did not align with what he would do in such a situation and probably made her immature in his eyes.

That was fine.

_Really, it was._

"Because you both care about each other."

Audrey's rage simmered in her gut. She did not care about an opinion, coming from a man Audrey was sure did everything his parents wanted and expected of him with no disagreement or fuss.

Perfectly infuriating! What had made her think he would understand?

Audrey gave Percy a sardonic smile, "You know, he won't even look at me. He just ignores me."

Percy finally spoke, his voice quiet, "What exactly did you get into?"

"I can't tell you, it's a top secret thing that I'm not able to tell you about." Percy looked a little closer. "It's researcher stuff." Lies tended to fall easily from her lips over private matter she did not have the words to explain. "I guess you're right though," Audrey's voice was tinged with bitterness and pride that might have only been discernible to her ears. "But I will not be the only one to apologize." Audrey thought privately she was going to have to bribe Septimus with alcohol; she refused to grovel first.

The sound of the bell to announce the time caused Audrey to bring her gaze up from the toes of her shoes. "I gotta go, Lucia wants me to go with her to help Scully take stock. I'll talk to you later?"

Percy stood up quickly and held his hand out to help Audrey to her feet. Audrey looked at his hand and up to his face where the sun was reflecting off his glasses, he had a smile on his face that Audrey thought was comforting in its ease and sincerity. Audrey took his hand and he helped her to her feet effortlessly. In that moment, she noted just how tall he was. Her eyes were level with his chest; he peered down at her and finally released her hand.

"You can talk to me if it doesn't get any better between you two. See you at work then?"

"Sure, work." Audrey's stomach flipped and she turned to walk to the Sneezing Snitch.

She did not have time to deal with this.

* * *

After Audrey and Lucia had finished helping Scully, Lucia had announced her intentions to visit an acquaintance of hers out in London while Audrey returned to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner before retiring to her room for the night to reread _Runes, Glyphs and Magic Circles_ by Derwyn Glynn, the book she had saved from Sloan during her attempted interrogation.

She traced the sealing rune with a finger as she reread the passage about Dark Manifestations. Could knowledge be evil? No, to combat darkness, one had to understand it and the forms it took. She skimmed the paragraph that discussed horcruxes. She was struggling to find a copy of _A Greatest Evil_ to better understand the need for this rune. Most old magic like this would be lost to time, but how was it that this one survived through the ages? Poltergeists were rare, but these other forms of magic for the rune were rarer still.

The noise coming from downstairs caused her to slam her book shut in agitation and to go down to see what was going on. She stepped into the hallway to be met with a low rumble of noise as she walked towards the staircase.

The wood floors creaked loudly and it made Audrey flinch, there was echoing laughter and the sound of a strong voice singing one of the war ballads composed after the Battle of Hogwarts. The voice was mournful, but reverberated with power through the staircase and up to the hallway above.

_A grand hero from humble origins,_

Oh, this sounded good!

_Dreaded by the servants of the Dark!_

An adventure story for sure. Audrey needed something to drink anyway. Something with alcohol in it and a story from an accomplished songstress would help her sleep.

_Snatching captives from the prison most foul,_

Wait a second…

Audrey stopped at the top of the staircase. Seeing a large group of people right now was suddenly something she did not want to do. She continued to listen and found herself moving backwards up the stairs, her eyes were wide and she was unable to fully comprehend what she was hearing as the song continued and soon finished with the final line.

_Lost to all in a blaze of glory._

Audrey felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack.

_No._

_No, no, no!_

Audrey staggered backwards into the hallway and pressed herself against the wall. Her breaths were short and her heart seemed to be trying to burst free from her chest. The hand she had placed over her heart would do very little to help keep it caged.

She did not want to be a mythic legend! She was just a girl, (young woman really), who could not sit back and watch bad things happen to innocent people. Dickens had remembered her, others would too!

An uneventful life was all she wanted! If anyone figured out that she was one of the Seven, the assumed leader, she would never get that life! It put her life and the lives of her family in greater danger. She would be called back for the next crisis at the ministry's request, figureheads are always good for morale, or sent to the front lines to deal in death and terrible spells.

Audrey slumped to the floor and put her head in her hands. Audrey ached for a private life. An uneventful one! Her hands gripped her too short hair as she gasped for air. She had been so _careful!_

Her whole life the past year was secrets and lies. Regarding the war, it seemed like she would have to keep lying for the rest of her life.

Audrey forced her breathing to slow with deep calming breaths.

She could do this.

Store her true memories of the war in a private pensieve. Make sure that she had a sustainable story in her head. It was easier to lie when the true memories were stored elsewhere, easier to alter her own truths to priers and schemers. Creating false memories for defeated opponents was something she had done previously, perhaps creating some false memories of her own would be much simpler, it would all be a matter of reorganizing her mind. Her friends would cover for each other if they knew what was going on, they had to be of one mind on the matter.

Lastly, she needed some new signature spells. Trying to impale people with icicles was far too noticeable.

Keeping a low profile would be easy; the song seemed to identify her as a man. Audrey never wanted to be noticed by anyone, and so hiding in plain sight was a viable option. She would not have to be a hermit.

Audrey sighed and pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees.

What a mess.

She had to get out of the Leaky Cauldron for a while.

* * *

The Sneezing Snitch's walls seemed to shake with the noise from its usual crowd. Audrey did not drink often, a complete inability to hold her liquor was the main reason. Fear of ending up like Septimus and George was another. She could say she had been sloshed once or twice during her lifetime. The time she could remember most vividly was when Septimus took her out for a drink over New Years. Audrey could not remember what he had bought her, but she remembered waking up on the floor of the shop at the foot of the stairs. Her shoes were still on her feet, but her socks were nowhere to be found.

She clutched the glass tightly and looked the foam at the top of the glass. Septimus had hardly been in an apology making mood and had blown off her attempts to create an opportunity by going back to the kitchen to wash the bar glasses under Hannah's watchful eyes. He had gotten a bit rude and had told her to bugger off at one point.

Audrey looked over to the barstool next to her and recognized the face quickly.

"My arse of a brother should be 'ere any minute."

Audrey's eyes narrowed, she knew better then to argue with drunks bigger then she was who seemed to have the devil's luck, but she could not help herself. It was probably a bit of the drink talking. "Hey, leave him alone. What did he do you?"

George leaned closer to Audrey like he was telling her a secret. His breath was terrible. "Ya don't know wha' he did, do ya? Wouldn't be tellin' me ta lay off if ya did." He laughed. "He deserves it, ya know."

Audrey looked at George curiously, leaning away from him as far as she could manage. She had seen him throw punches at people before and the few that collided looked like they really hurt.

"What did he do?" She was keeping her hand on her wand as a precaution, though if he threw the first punch, she could probably kick the stool out from under him.

It would not be the first time a man had hit her.

"He walked out for his job, lef' the family for his job." George was swaying back and forth on the barstool as he rested his elbow on the bar. "Everythin' for his job. On'y comes back when it would look bes' for 'im. Oi, Scully! Anotha one on ta rocks!"

Audrey's eyes grew wider as her mouth opened in a perfect circle, who would leave their family over something like that? Audrey thought Percy was very kind, she hardly thought he was capable of something so coldhearted. Like her father…

"Everythin's 'is fault. 'E was standing right next ta Fred when 'e... died. Didn't do a 'hing to save him."

Audrey had never slapped anyone before, but she did slap George.

She leapt off the chair fully expecting retaliation with her wand in her hand. He was bigger than she was and she did not intend to go back to Saint Mungo's or explain to Lucia how she had instigated a brawl at the Sneezing Snitch or who had blacked her eye.

George picked himself off the floor, gripping the barstool for balance and he looked enraged, his hand on his stinging cheek.

"How _dare_ you!" Audrey felt her blood surge through her veins as her voice took an icy chill. She _needed_ this the way most people need air. Everything in her life had gone so wrong lately and it would be nice to fall back into the old pattern. Her voice was soft and cold, but it echoed through the room. As the pub grew silent at the sight of the confrontation taking place before them, the crack of Audrey's hand across George's face getting everyone's attention. "Your brother deserves your _respect_ for hauling your sorry, _pathetic_ arse home every evening!"

"I ain't-"

Audrey's fist slammed down on the countertop. Ice formed under her fist, a contradiction to the fiery roar in her head. " _Shut it!_ Percy's been taking care of you and you treat him like dirt on your shoes! No matter what you've said to him, how much undeserved blame you've cast on him, he keeps bringing you home and caring about you. I would have stopped long ago if you had said half of that shit to me!"

George pulled back his fist. Audrey called a knock-back barrier with a breath, ready to send him into a wall with the multiplied force of his own punch. George was blasted back into the opposing wall on the other side of the room as soon has his fist tried to make contact with her nose.

The right hand of the Seven stood undaunted.

Suddenly the Sneezing Snitch began their nightly brawl as George staggered to his feet and made a beeline for Audrey. Seeing an opportunity, Audrey dived over the bar as a chair flew over her head.

"Good speech, Aud!" Scully grabbed a fire poker he kept behind the bar before standing up and waving it like an angry grandfather. "If you break that Fowler, I'll send my mother after you! CELESTE HELP!"

Sebastian Harper, the Sneezing Snitch's pianist, sped up the piano piece he was playing to create appropriate music for them to fight to.

Beethoven had never sounded so jazzy.

_What's wrong with me?_

There was a resounding crash as a chest of drawers fell somewhere in the back of the room behind the combatants.

"Not my vintage wine bottle collection! Audrey, help me throw them out!" Scully snapped as there was another crash. He groaned loudly. "That's my mother's china…"

"On my way!" Audrey stayed low until she could pop her head over the counter to observe where people were. Celeste had just tackled someone out the door like a rugby player. Audrey took a deep breath before enchanting the barstools on the other side of the bar.

The barstools reared up on two legs like horses before running along the walls of the pub and surrounding the fighters and proceeding to smack them in the back and out the door. Audrey scooped up George with a levitation charm and threw him on the top of the pile of people before slamming the door closed behind him.

Harper had slowed his piano playing to a mournful ballad about a man who had lost himself to the trauma of his life. He began to sing and Audrey felt her heart grow heavy.

_He found no rest in peacetime,_

_Back from a war long fought,_

_His sweetheart was dead,_

_Cold in the grave._

_He sought battle to quell the silence,_

_His thoughts were a rush of spells and screams,_

_Rest is never attained for the lost._

_He sought to revive his love through magic most foul,_

_And hoped to die in the attempt._

_Death came and whispered in his ear,_

" _No rest for you, a peaceful death does not suit."_

Audrey found it appropriate to just close her eyes and slump to the floor as the weight of the world suddenly settled on her shoulders.

There is no rest or relief from the guilt, the burden of her sins and the bloodstains of her triumphs. History would remember the monster she was during the war; whatever would follow would never be remembered no matter how peaceful her life was in the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Audrey will be dealing with everything she did during the war for the next several years in various capacities. Some will see her as a folk hero, a myth, someone living quietly in peacetime or a dead hero of the Muggle-born community. The MFR are looking for Muggle-borns to prop up as either martyrs or as members of their organization so they're trying to get some stories out quickly though the radio and war ballads. Though, tales tend to get warped in the telling and the truth tends to get lost somewhere in the middle. 
> 
> Homestretch time people! 
> 
> Begin to consider your ideas of the man in the mask's identity over the next few chapters. For his true name has been mentioned during the course of this story.


	18. Pieces in Place

_July 11th 1998_

Serena Scoresby did not feel scared as she entered the code to enter the Ministry through the visitor's entrance. She kept her head raised high and her hand resting comfortably on one of her knives until she took a deep breath and rested her hands at her sides. She had to appear like a normal little girl, one who was looking for the Floo Regulations department so she could find her mother.

As she took in the sight of the Atrium she sucked in a breath. It was a beautiful structure. Cappie's parents worked here? Serena found it difficult to believe that anybody could work in a building like this. Her mother's print shop was dingy at the best of times and a layer of dust had to cover everything before anything got cleaned. Serena remembered hand washing a vase her mother had gotten from her grandmother years ago. Serena polished it until she could see every freckle on her nose. The tiled floor here in the Atrium was just as clean as that vase.

She looked down and smiled at her reflection as she pinned the badge that read, 'Serena Scoresby: Assassin' to the front of her robes. Serena then thought the better of it and put it into her pocket. Besides, she did not want anything to obscure the pretty design on her new robes. Cappie told her she needed to dress up a bit, and bathe so she would blend in with the other children visitors. It was a pretty thing, and Serena being clean and washed felt very pretty for the first time in months. She was glad Cappie had let her use a shower at the Leaky Cauldron yesterday while the adults were off working. Serena smiled and fingered her long blonde braid and fixed her hair shyly. She had done it herself, and was hoping she still looked nice.

Serena shook her head her braid smacking her in the face. What was wrong with her? One bath, some pretty clothes, and a nice hairstyle and she turns into a _girl?_ She was always proud of being a tough little tomboy, but this was stupid. Serena Scoresby was here to kill a man and no pretty clothes were going to change her mind.

The mangled statue in the middle of the fountain caught her attention. Serena wondered what happened to it as she examined it closely for a moment before focusing her attention on the task at hand. She found her way into a large crowd that was passing the security desk and found her way into the lift.

* * *

"Oh Audrey, your brother's so cute!"

"I'm glad you brought him in, most of our department's children had outgrown this."

"My Eddie told me he was too old just last week. He's Cappie's age!"

"Oh Betty, they grow up so fast don't they?"

The woman named Betty began to cry while the other woman surrounding Cappie made crooning noises at her and continued pinching Cappie's cheeks as he sat on their coffee table in the break room.

"Oh look at his pudgy cheeks! That's so cute!" Isra smiled as she moved his hair out of his eyes. "My eldest is going to Hogwarts in a couple of years." She sniffled and adjusted Cappie's shirt collar. "I'm going to go home and hug him, he's not going to need me forever."

Audrey laughed nervously as she leaned against the wall and watched Cappie get poked, prodded, and pinched by a good portion of the female half of the security department. Cappie was taking it all in stride and seemed to enjoy everything but the cheek pinching. He took it like a champ though. Audrey walked down to the locker room trusting that Cappie would be safe in their hands while she put her uniform on.

He would be leaving in three months to go to school. Audrey bit her lip and sighed. Cappie seemed both too young to leave her and too old to go to Hogwarts. Their family would seem incomplete without him.

The only other person down in the locker room was Lucia who was unhooking the top couple of clasps at the top of her robes and fixing her make-up in the mirror. She gave Audrey a smile as she applied her lip-gloss. "How’s Cappie doing up there?"

"Fine, they seem to have taken a liking to him." Audrey replied as she put her work tunic on over her top and found her regulation trousers to wear under them. Dawson did not care about shoes so her boots stayed. Audrey fixed the holster around her leg and looked in the mirror for a moment. She stood and turned to face different angles and examined her figure closely. She could stand to gain a few pounds. She pulled her robes a little closer to her frame. The war had taken a physical toll on her body; the way she was living now was not helping her recover physically.

"Aud, stop you're A-cup angst and come on!" Lucia said loudly causing Audrey to jump and fall back onto the bench behind her. "We are going to the library! So go save the kid and let's go!" Audrey grabbed her trench coat in case it was cold in the library and followed, throwing it over her arm.

It took five minutes to pry Cappie away from those who were reminiscing about how much Cappie reminded them of their own children, and to actually get down to the library. They passed parents holding their children's hands and patiently answering questions about the work they did.

Cappie's eyes wandered over the melted statue, "What happened to that?" The artist who had been hired to create a new piece for the Fountain of Magical Brethren gave the three of them a cold look. Audrey presumed he had just lost his train of thought. Audrey looked up at the ceiling trying to look innocent. Cappie caught on. "You know what happened to it don't you?"

"Yeah, so what if I do?" Audrey replied as they continued to the lift down to the library. "I may or may not have been involved."

"Could you tell me? Pretty please!"

"When you're older."

Cappie was quiet for a moment, "I'm older now!"

Audrey smacked the back of his head gently. "Don't get smart with me."

"You are such a _mum!"_ Lucia laughed as they stepped into the lift and began to descend to the library archives. Cappie fell over when the lift stopped with a sudden jerk forward, Audrey and Lucia were used to it by this point. They both leaned down and pulled him to his feet with a laugh. Cappie smiled sheepishly as he followed Lucia and Audrey to the desk they had been assigned.

"You're still not gonna tell me what happened to it?" Cappie asked as he leaned over the desk and looked at them both closely as Audrey and Lucia got situated.

Audrey hid her face in her hands as she shook her head slowly.

Cappie was silent. “What about my parents?”

“Drop it.”

Audrey may not have wanted Cappie to fully understand what had fully gone on during the war and what his parents had done to preserve innocent lives. Martin and Adamina Garland, along with Nolan Odell had perished in their burning headquarters when Death Eaters found Haven. Septimus did not like bothering with a secret-keeper; they had just surrounded the place with security charms, easier to take in Muggle-borns who had found their way there on their own from other stations, though most of the time they would be picked up by one of the seven.

She thought he did not really need to know about any of the events that transpired afterwards either. How could she describe the terror of not having a wand until the boy had one to lose himself? The dark, hopelessness of being taken to court and having dementors swarming around with a mad old bird laughing in enjoyment of one's suffering and the idea of her and John's loss of their souls? Though their escape was a tale to tell, she had heard it referenced by people who had heard about it from someone who was there, though they dismissed it as a myth. Audrey felt that he would never understand the desperation they had felt until he could understand the events that had let them to such a place. Audrey hated the Ministry for letting such things happen with no effort to stop it; this whole place could burn for all Audrey cared, just as long as she could light the match.

She wanted Cappie to hold on to his innocence, or what was left of it, a little longer.

Cappie gave her a firm, hard glare before he began to wander through the shelves of the large, extensive collection of books, picking out titles with such care that Audrey thought for that alone he should go to Ravenclaw. Audrey knew Cappie was smart, misguided maybe, but bright enough to do something good with his life. Audrey was going to make sure he did, maybe she could talk him into the Research field.

She watched as the chief librarian approached Cappie and she began to engage him in a conversation about his schooling and lead him to a small section on basic magic. Audrey giggled as Cappie began talking rapidly and enthusiastically to the little old woman who seemed to be keeping up with remarkable ease. Audrey adjusted the coat on the back of her chair and gave in to Lucia's coaxing of a card game.

The game was interrupted by a thundering sound coming from the Atrium above them a few minutes later. Audrey and Lucia looked up, shrugged and continued the game until a loud crash caused them both to throw their cards into the air at the sound of someone screaming. Audrey was the first to her feet with her wand in her hand and was pointing it at the lift grate, her breathing shallow. The only thing she could hear was the blood pounding in her ears.

_Ba-bump_

The grates were opening. Audrey tightened her grip on her wand ready to stun.

_Ba-bump_

A man hit the floor with the usual jerk from the lift. Audrey moved to put her wand back in the holster; she reassumed her position as the man began to babble incoherently about security needing to round up employees. Audrey raised an eyebrow and kneeled down to his level. He took a deep breath and began to explain again, he never got the opportunity. The lift opened again and another man walked in with his wand drawn and pointed it between Audrey's eyes.

_Ba-thump_

"Drop your wand," he said as he took a step closer towards Audrey to help make his point. From Audrey's perspective he was doing a good job.

Lucia drew her wand and the man blasted it out of her hands and stunned her. She hit the ground with a resounding _thud_.

Audrey raised her wand pulling up a shield as he tried to disarm her. Her shield charm fell and Audrey jumped to her feet a hex dancing on her tongue.

She artfully dodged the man's counter spell. It was a familiar dance and Audrey still remembered every step. Audrey's body moved like water from one spell to the next as she moved to protect Lucia's frozen body. Her opponent plainly was an experienced duelist and Audrey had not truly dueled a single opponent in months.

She moved low and took a chance to try catch him in an upward gust of wind as her wand moved upwards.

In that same moment he struck her with a stunning spell in the shoulder.

"Just stay down."

Audrey realized quickly as the rest of the staff was rounded up, that when the only part of one's body that one could move was their eyes, life got pretty boring.

The chief librarian and her staff were being rounded up and forced into a back office. No sign of Cappie. Great, the librarians were going to be hostages while she and Lucia got murdered for threat value.

That was bloody perfect.

He walked out of the room and grabbed the back of the man from the lift's shirt and Lucia's robes before hauling them back into the office as well. Audrey tried to struggle.

Find Cappie and get him out!

There was the sensation of the back of her robes being grabbed and the room shifting as she too was moved to the back office. As she was tossed to the hard floor she regained sensation and movement in her body. She wished she had not.

The chief librarian was watching the hooded man with hawkish eyes as she kept the more nervous members of her staff behind her. Putting her frail, elderly form between them and the threat.

He told them all to sit down and they obeyed; this man was outnumbered, but nobody was going to risk someone's life needlessly.

The man who had come down out of the lift was sitting next to Audrey. He had finally caught his breath and was whispering rapidly into Audrey's ear. "I don't know how they got in, communications have been shut down, so I've been sent to tell you lot that we are getting employees into the Security headquarters in the Atrium or into safe areas on other floors."

"Hm…" Was Audrey's only response as she watched the hooded man carefully, eyes moving between him and Lucia who was watching him also, Audrey then jabbed the messenger in the ribs with her elbow to keep his attention and shut him up. She met Lucia's eyes as the hooded man turned his back to them. Didn't most people watch the hostages? It was like he was waiting for someone or for orders of some sort. Audrey had no intention of becoming a bargaining tool.

She met Lucia's eyes before giving her the hand sign for charge, leapt to her feet and rammed into his back, the captor's head banging against the door. Lucia gave a loud battle cry as the man straightened himself and knocked Audrey to the floor and pointed his wand at her. There was a loud crack and a shout of pain and the man's elbow was bent at an unnatural angle. Lucia had broken it with the shear force of her impact. Audrey kicked his feet out from under him and got him down on the floor.

"He's got the wands in his sleeves!" One of the librarians shouted.

Audrey stuck her hands into his robe sleeves and pulled out the taken wands grabbing hers and Lucia's before throwing what remained at the crowd behind her. The librarians quickly rushed out the door to check the damage as the messenger started to brief the chief librarian.

" _Ligabis!"_ Tying him up with a quick swish of her wand and throwing him into the corner of the office, Audrey got to her feet and brushed the dirt off of her robes as he cried out in agony. She moved to stand in front of him before kneeling down to look him directly in the eyes as he slumped against the wall.

He struggled violently when he realized who had all of the power in this situation. There was so much fear in his eyes as he stammered and shivered.

"Y-You're supposed to be dead!"

"The rumors of my death are a sad exaggeration." She leaned a little closer and put her wand under his chin. "If you tell me everything you know about what is going on, I promise that you will never have to see me again. If I find out you lied to me," the tip of her wand lit up, "you will know why I was feared first hand."

Tears filled his eyes, "I'm here under orders from people more powerful than myself to take hostages until further orders are given."

Audrey pressed the tip of her wand a little harder into the underside of his chin.

"I don't know who the man is. I've never seen him, but he's looking for you." His expression shifted from one of pain to one of shocked laughter. "I-I _laughed_ when they told me they were looking for a dead woman, clearly I was mistaken. That is all I know I swear!"

Looking for her? Audrey splinted the man's elbow with a flick of her wand before putting her hand on his forehead. She had learned a lesson from Dickens.

The man's trembling increased as Audrey reached out for the tendrils of his memories with her magic. The memory of today's encounter with her was what she wanted, she just had to reach very carefully and erase her face at least…

Her fingertips shimmered and the man was pressing his back against the wall like he was trying to fuse himself with it. Audrey felt a shudder as his version of events fled her mind and he slumped to the floor with a thump and a look of terror on his face before he passed out.

Audrey got to her feet to go out into the library but was blocked by a stunned looking Lucia who was staring at Audrey with a blank expression.

"I thought we were going to leave that behind when the war ended.”

Audrey struggled to respond.

I'm not saying I don't condone torture, but that was not necessary."

“Lucia, I-“

Lucia held up a hand and Audrey was silent.

“I know Septimus taught you a lot of things I don’t always agree with, but doesn’t mean his idea of morality is always the right one.”

"I'm sorry." Audrey adjusted her grip on her wand. "It was instinct, I thought he'd confess to more under duress." She sighed, "He's too low on the pole to know anything useful anyway."

"Just leave it here, whatever _that_ was." She moved over to put a silencing spell on their former captor to keep him quiet when he woke up. "What's the plan Aud?"

"Why me?" The last place Audrey wanted to be was in charge, she never saw herself as a leader. She was content to take orders given as long as someone gave them that she trusted not to get her killed and who had a good grasp on the situation. She lead Lucia out of the back office and into the library proper where they were met with the messenger.

"We really only have one option now that the library has been breached, we need to regroup in the security station in the Atrium. There will be more people there and it seems the easiest place to defend and escape if need be." The messenger explained as he straightened the collar of his robes.

The chief librarian walked over from where she had been talking with her staff, putting her hands on her hips and gave the messenger a stern look that seemed to have been in use for decades. "And what if we do not want to take part in this silly venture? We need to stay and protect the collection."

"Be reasonable Madam Higgins, three librarians currently on staff and yourself of course, if you’re invaded by these people you don't have a chance."

Chief Librarian Marion Higgins' scowl deepened and the man took a step back. "My job is to take care of and protect this library and its contents. There are valuable books here, and I need to protect them. My staff has the choice to stay or go; it's their choice I will not make it for them. The library is an independent department; we take no orders from any of the other Ministry departments. Are we clear?"

The messenger nodded rapidly.

"Good," she turned to the librarians. "Would you like to stay and protect the collection or go to safety?"

A small, stoat librarian stepped forward. "No choice at all Master Chief. We're staying with you. What do you want moved first?"

"Most of the dangerous stuff is indisposed on the lower level still under protection from the war that we have not gotten around to yet. All that really needs to be done is moving some sections down there, redoing the security, and securing the premises." The chief smiled, "We're going to do this as quickly as we can, and you all know the drill so hop to it." The librarians all scattered in different direction as quickly as they were able. "I will see you all later then." The chief smiled and followed her staff into the stacks of the library. "Oh, one more thing." Marion Higgins smile widened wolfishly. "Feel free to leave that poor bloke there. He seems to add to the décor." She gave them a wink and followed after her staff.

Audrey could not help but think that this was one scary librarian.

"May I never be on Marion Higgins bad side…" Audrey muttered as she looked around the room, thinking about if she knew any more direct routes to the Security Department from the library. She quickly summoned her trench coat from the security desk and realized that Cappie had never been brought into the office. No awards for Audrey regarding childcare this year!

Leaving Lucia to get more information from the messenger, Audrey walked past the shelves peering down them looking for the boy and calling his name. "Cappie! Cappie Garland!" Audrey called quietly as she looked down the defense section. "David Martin Garland, come out this instant!"

"That you, Audie?" A voice sounded from one of the bookshelves above Audrey's head.

Audrey looked up to find the boy perched at the top of a bookshelf. Audrey did not bother asking how he had gotten up there. Cappie tended to get into things he was not supposed to.

"Madam Higgins got me up here; can you get me down please?"

* * *

The lift grates opened into the empty Atrium. Audrey peered around corners with her wand drawn ready to fire. Cappie was right behind her holding on to the back of Audrey's trench coat tightly. It looked clear, Audrey waved the group on they took off at a run to the door to the main security office. The only person in the Atrium was the obsessed artist who was continuing to take measurements and mold the gold into a statue for the new era. Artists were weird.

Audrey unlocked the door with a security spell and followed the rest of her group inside. The space in the security office was packed with people; most of the people there were not security, they were just people who had been rounded up on their way to work. The man who delivered the message thanked her and Lucia before taking off into the crowd. Cappie gripped the back of Lucia’s robes so they would not get separated.

Audrey looked at the crowd for a moment, her knees shaking as the adrenaline wore off and began searching the crowd for Dawson. She found him talking with a tall, balding, redheaded man who was looking back and forth from Dawson to the door. They were talking in quickly rising voices. Audrey moved in closer, standing off to the side and listened to the conversation.

"Look, we don't have the man power to go up there and rescue a few of Minister Shacklebolt's direct underlings. My focus is on getting as many children and employees out as I can in a short amount of time." Dawson paused, "I am very sorry about your son Arthur, but it's out of my hands. Maybe my staff holed them up in some cubicle."

"If you don't have the man power then let me go up. I don't need anyone to go with me." The man pleaded and Audrey felt sorry for him. A plan began to form in the back of her mind. _"Please!"_

Dawson turned as Isra put a hand on his shoulder. "Isra, get some of our people to start evacuating the children out of the old fireplaces before someone shuts down the floo. After that, you and I can take small teams up to survey the other floors and save who we can. When the Aurors come back they will need information and I intend to give it to them."

"I'll get Rosa and Flora to handle evacuation while I take a team to the second floor to try and find remaining Enforcers." Isra looked calm and hard eyed, clearly a woman accustomed to making hard calls and the burdens of leadership.

"Take Walker with you, he's got a mental map of that floor in his silly brain down to the last floor tile. No, I don't care to think about how or why he does."

"Consider it done." Isra moved quickly through the crowd shouting for order and asking for volunteers.

Audrey turned her attention back to Arthur and Dawson who had resumed their conversation.

"I need to go, just let me go with your strike team and I can go to the first floor on my own!"

Dawson looked at the floor for a moment and took a deep breath before he got stern. "Drop it, I've told you that there is nothing I can do. You're getting out of here; Percy is going to be fine. That golden masked fellow you saw on the way inside may not even be going to the top floor, all the good information is on the second floor with the Law Enforcement offices." Dawson paused, "The Aurors and the Enforcers are out checking leads for a Dark Wizard stronghold. Even the apprentices are gone and that leaves everyone's safety to me and my team."

' _Man in a mask…'_ Audrey felt the air leave her lungs and her knees begin to shake for a moment.

“… _He's looking for you…”_

She pulled herself together quickly as she put her hand on the wall to steady herself. She alone could stop this madness. The plan began to take root; Audrey wanted the masked man to suffer. Audrey wanted to kill him herself, this was not a job for Aurors or Enforcers, and this was personal. She would have no choice but to bring the man talking to Dawson. Arthur Weasley would probably know the layout of the upper floors better then she and Lucia would. Also, she did not trust him not to follow them and get in the way, better to keep him close and watch him. Besides, two would hardly stand a chance in an ambush. Three was always a good number to have with its magical properties.

_Dawson does not need to know…_

Before she could go anywhere, Audrey needed to send Cappie back to the Diagon Alley where he would be safe just in case something happened. Then to tell Lucia about her plan and what she had heard… Audrey backed away from Dawson and Arthur to find her companions. Audrey hated talking to strangers alone.

It did not take her to long to find Cappie leaning anxiously against the wall watching the crowd, his head on a constant swivel as he looked around Audrey walked over and stood next to him. "Hey Caps, I'm going to send you back to the Alley now because I think things are going to get messy." Cappie opened his mouth to respond, but Audrey cut him off. "The man with the golden mask is upstairs. The children are being evacuated now and I don't want you getting hurt." She put a hand on his shoulder and led him to a nearby fireplace in Dawson's office where Betty Harrison was taking charge of evacuating the children. Audrey waved to get her attention and she motioned them to the front of the line.

"You'll be okay right? You won't go after him?"

"Yeah, I promise." Audrey smiled and gave him the floo powder. “I will tell you everything about your parents when I get back.”

"Promises don't mean anything." Cappie looked back at her as he called his destination and disappeared into a flash of flames.

She stood and ran out of the office, finding Lucia quickly, she was talking to Walker who was adjusting his holster and standing next to Isra. They seemed to be asking Lucia about joining the strike team. Audrey moved in as they walked away and pulled Lucia aside to tell her what was going on.

Lucia smiled, "Sounds like more fun then body hunting, so let's get going before Isra _orders_ me onto her strike team."

Audrey pulled off her outer robe and cloak, putting on her trench coat as she fixed her button down shirt. She had finished repairing the protection spells on the coat and if she was going to see action today, she would rather be out of uniform and alive to accept punishment for it later.

They quickly found Arthur, who was lurking by the atrium door seeming to be waiting on a chance to slip out. Arthur looked tired, like he had not had a good nights sleep in weeks. There was a great rush of pity, and aching familiarity as she got a better look at his face. Percy looked just like him.

Lucia tapped him on the shoulder causing him to jump into the air. "Get a grip! My friend overheard your little problem and we want to help. You want to get Percy; we want the man in the mask. We can help each other." Lucia smiled and Audrey surveyed the deal from behind her. "Are you interested?"

"Yes." He looked so surprised that somebody wanted to help him. Then realization dawned on his face as he saw Lucia's uniform. "Aren't you going with the strike team?"

Audrey and Lucia exchanged a wry look.

"We have a complicated history with taking orders," Lucia grinned. "To put it another way, we are the best people at getting in and out of dangerous places without injury. I'm sure you can piece that together."

Audrey's hand moved up to cover her face with a muffled groan. The Seven were a secret organization! Though Septimus often said that the right hand never needed to know what the left was doing. The right hand remained unsure if the left knew what it was doing most of the time.

Arthur looked over at Audrey and she barely caught the flash of recognition in his eyes.

"Good, then my name Lucia Selwyn," Audrey noticed the man flinch back a bit; Lucia did not seem to notice. "The quiet one is Audrey Causey. And who are you exactly?"

"Arthur Weasley."

Audrey smiled, she was finally going to get the masked man, and he was going to pay. She moved over to grab the doorknob.

It was stuck.

"He enchanted it to keep us inside where it is safe. Probably needs an exit code." Arthur clarified as Audrey sighed and tapped the door a couple of times to try and find the source of the spell. She pulled out her wand and little silver keys burst from the tip and into the lock.

"Give me a minute and we can go."

"I'm going to tell you something important before we go." Lucia's voice got firm as she took a step closer to Arthur to ensure Audrey was hidden from view. "We're in charge. If we tell you to leave us and go, you will do so without question. If we tell you to get down and stay there, that is what you will do. Disobeying could get you killed by either them or us by accident. That's our condition."

"I understand," he looked between Lucia and Audrey with a knitted brow as if he was putting together a puzzle. Audrey stepped away from the door and fixed the collar of her coat as she looked around the chaotic room one last time.

Henry Dawson was on his way over.

"Let's go!" Audrey opened the door into the atrium and the three of them ran out into the open space as Dawson roared behind them.

" _WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? GET BACK HERE!_

"I'll take point," Audrey moved in front of them and led the way to the back staircase on the other side of the atrium and blew the door off its hinges with a expulso curse before moving inside with a shield charm up and ready.

"SELWYN! CAUSEY! _Mother of God…"_

" _Dolens Incrementum!"_ The woman on the other end of Audrey's spell sprouted a series of boils all over her body and fell to the floor in obvious agony. Audrey jumped over the body and onto the staircase as Lucia stunned her and repaired the wall to cover their obvious way in.

"I think we're about to be fired, Aud."

"No loss for me. I'm done with the Ministry!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a librarian assistant, I can confirm that librarians as a species are dangerous and lowkey hateful, they can find a way to kill you and hide your remains. They have access to Agatha Christie through ritual summoning. The darkest secret of the trade.
> 
> On that note. Let the chaos begin.


	19. Rescue

_July 11th 1998_

A whoosh from the fireplace was nothing new in Diagon Alley's Leaky Cauldron. As a result, nobody really looked at Cappie as he ran out of the fireplace and towards the bar. They took notice when he started shouting.

"Septimus! _Septimus!_ "

There was a crowd gathered at the Leaky Cauldron that day to listen to the Wimbledon Wasps thrash the Chudley Cannons in Quidditch on the wireless. Every time that the Wasps scored on the Cannons everyone would take a drink. Most of the patrons were pretty intoxicated by this point.

Cappie pushed his way through the crowd still shouting for the old man. It was noisy and someone had accidentally knocked him in the head with their elbow. Cappie staggered back bumping into Hannah who was serving drinks to customers at a nearby table.

She looked down at the boy in confusion. "Cappie? I thought you went with Audrey today?"

"No time Hannah, I need to find Septimus! It's important!"

Hannah's look of confusion changed to one of indifference. It was common knowledge that she found the old man of questionable moral character, and disagreed with him on many counts.

"He's at the bar like he usually is."

Cappie caught sight of Septimus hunched over a bottle of Ogden's finest firewhiskey. Of all the times to be drinking… "Thank you Hannah!" He ran over as fast as he was able, "Septimus!"

The old man looked up for a moment then went back to his drink, "What is it Cappie?"

"Something's wrong, I think Lucia and Audie are in trouble!" Cappie was sure that Septimus would go help; he liked the two of them and had worked hard to keep them out of too much trouble during and after the war.

"They're adults; they can take care of themselves. If they can't that's their own problem." He took another drink as the Wasps scored again.

"But-"

"No buts."

"The masked-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

His parents had always told him to count to ten when he got angry. Cappie was too angry to count, "The masked man already killed Russell and now you will let him do the same to Audie and Lucia? I thought you cared, I guess you don't care if the man in the mask kills'em. That's fine, if you won't help them then I will!" Cappie stormed back into the crowd leaving Septimus with his mouth hanging open stupidly.

Septimus pulled himself together quickly, "Wait! _What?"_ He rose from the barstool and leaned on his cane as Cappie rushed back to his side. "If we're going to pull off a rescue mission, I'm not going in blind and unprepared. We need some supplies."

"What kind of supplies?"

"You'll find out," Septimus turned his attention to Tom who was watching with interest. "Tom, do me a favor and tell Cadwallader what's going on. I think she might want to round up the Diagon Watch too. And could I get a refill, I think I'm going to need it." He put his flask on the bar with a smile. "The strongest stuff you've got."

* * *

Arthur Weasley found these young women to be a bit strange. The Selwyn girl was friendly enough, to a degree, chatty, joking, and a bit on the crude side. Causey seemed icy and silent, she was taking a lot of deep breathes as if to calm herself down. Merlin knew he had done that enough over the past couple of years, but this seemed different. Causey appeared to be focusing on something that was not there.

_Audrey Causey…_ That named sounded familiar, maybe because he had met someone with the same surname on a case once, a muggle detective who he had to distract for Magical Law Enforcement. He said he was working an old homicide case and one of the suspects was reportedly living in the building. Coincidentally, the man Causey was investigating was also wanted by the Ministry of Magic for the same crime. It was rare a case crossed into two worlds like that. Arthur had to smooth that one over very carefully, Aran Causey seemed unable to believe the usual excuse of Special Investigative Team.

There was no chance they were related anyway; Aran Causey had said he had neither children nor siblings. Though the resemblance was startling, he had never forgotten those unusually pale eyes.

Arthur had seen Audrey around the Ministry before. He noticed how small and pale she was, the dark shadows that seemed permanently etched under her bloodshot eyes, Aran looked perpetually exhausted as well.

Arthur remembered how he had heard her name used, it had been tossed around the office during the war as the name of a somewhat known ravel rouser during the war who was causing some real problems for the Ministry's attempt at _purification._ Arthur had heard that she was involved in grabbing imprisoned Muggle-borns mid-flight to Azkaban, doing a real job on John Dawlish and other members of the escort team. He had also heard about her death about a month after the war ended, though he had heard different dates and different causes of her demise. Apparently those were rumors, because she was at the head of this line up the back stairs with her wand out and ready. At first glance, Audrey Causey seemed too young to be in charge of anything.

"Audrey," Arthur asked, his voice low and steady. "You wouldn't happen to be related to a man named Aran Causey, would you?"

"Never heard of him." Her voice was clipped and terse. That greatcoat she was wearing was much too big for her slight frame; Arthur barely saw her shoulders move as she shrugged and the bottom of the coat reached the middle of her worn boots.

"So what is it that you do exactly, Arthur?" Lucia asked as she picked up speed to keep pace with him. Arthur realized he might have made a blunder with the speed of Lucia's change of subject, or he might have been right on the nose. He had a galleon to bet on the latter. Lucia flipped her blonde hair, and smiled like it was a normal conversation not a rescue mission or a distraction.

The lady was pure flirt.

"Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells." Arthur replied as he continued the climb. It had been a while since he had taken the stairs, it seemed much more exhausting then it used to be.

"Well, that's a mouthful," Lucia Selwyn said cheekily; the cheek was apparently encouraged by Audrey's chuckle.

"I want to get back into Muggle Artifacts but that won't be for some time. What do you two do for a living aside from working at the ministry?"

Lucia laughed quietly, "I'm kind of a lay about really, this is actually my full-time job and I really like it. I live with Audrey and my Uncle at the Septenary."

Arthur had heard about that place, he had his staff investigate it a couple of times under Scrimgeour's orders due to reports of selling dark artifacts under the table. Septimus Lowell was a clever man; seemingly two steps ahead of the ministry and as a result nothing came of either investigation. Though Arthur was not entirely sure they had checked the entire building, Lowell kicked up such a fuss and reportedly threatened the lot of them so thoroughly they all left after checking a couple of rooms after he threatened to hex them all to Azkaban and back.

"Are you both boarders?"

"I'm the boarder, Audrey's Uncle Septimus' apprentice. She's still got a few years of service left, right Aud?"

There was a noise of acknowledgement from the front. That coat was much too big for a woman that size.

There was a slight faltering in Lucia's expression that she quickly covered with a giggle.

"Audrey, what was that thing you were writing the thesis paper on when the shop burned down?"

Audrey turned back for a moment, her wand resting easily in both hands, as she fiddled with it nervously. Her guard was down for a moment and Arthur got a better look at the person under the mask of hardened veteran.

"Rune seals and blood magic. It's interesting, not a lot known about either one though it takes root from ancient magical summoning, sealing, and tracking spellcraft. They've been able to trace the original use of it to Morgana Le Fey, though I suspect it was in use earlier due to the works of Áine Ó heachthighearna."

"Bless you."

"That was a name, _Lucy."_ Audrey corrected drily.

"Don't call me Lucy, I don't like it, terrible old fashioned name!"

Audrey laughed, her hand moving up to cover her mouth.

"Also I've only ever heard you swear in Irish which is admittedly rare." Lucia turned to look at Arthur, "It's a bloody mouthful, and it sounds like someone's dying."

" _Go mbeadh cosa gloine fút agus go mbrise an ghloine!_ Try and make that sound nonthreatening."

"What did you just say?"

"I'm not telling."

"I suspect you just insulted me, but is sounded kind of sexy so I'll let it slide."

"How sexy?" Audrey turned back to Lucia with a wry grin.

"Eh…" Lucia moved her hand like a scale and knitted her brow together. "Somewhere above the… Actually, I can't answer that. Languages are just sexy in all forms." She started to laugh.

"Anyway, reportedly she's the one who first theorized the use of sealing runes. Though it is rumors and speculation, it could have been Morgana as well. There's a lot of magic involved in creating a sealing rune and a few criteria that need to be met for it to be successful. A combination of sealing runes and blood magic was reportedly used to keep people not of a bloodline out of a house and off private property. I would have liked to try and put one up at the shop, but none of us are related."

"When the shop gets rebuilt, we'll put wards on it as the shop goes up. Don't need the Ministry finding-" Lucia paused and looked at Arthur, suddenly remembering he was there- _"Things._ All of our… harmless, cutesy things. Have I told you about the tea set at the old odds and ends shop? It has little plates that look like flowers and we should get it as a Christmas gift for Septimus!"

Audrey sighed and turned her attention to the staircase again in a humorless silence. The humor was gone from her face and posture.

Lucia's shoulders slumped as she sighed in resignation.

Mentioning Audrey's teacher was enough to kill the conversation completely. Bad blood maybe?

That was the most Arthur had ever heard Audrey speak. She was nice, articulate, probably involved in some rather questionable things and was definitely too crafty for a security job.

* * *

"Why are we standing in front of the Wheeze?" Cappie asked as Septimus walked up to the front door and knocked it down with a spell. The door hit the ground with a crash and Septimus strolled calmly inside. "Geezer, I don't think making them laugh to death is gonna work. Doesn't this count as robbery?"

"I've told you that something is only bad if you get caught, and he's too drunk to notice." Septimus said pointedly as he motioned to the figure sprawled on the floor smelling of vomit and liquor. "Besides, where you see children's toys, I see weapons of war."

George snored loudly and cuddled his bottle of whiskey closer to his chest.

"That there is the mastermind." Septimus crept over to a shelf of decoy detonators and got them into two small magically enlarged bags that hung of his belt. He took one off and tossed it to Cappie who clipped it onto his own belt. Septimus walked over to the counter and took a few bags of darkness powder giving a couple to Cappie also. "Cappie, go find some fireworks and small items you can shoot out of your slingshot."

"Yes sir!" Cappie leapt over the sleeping drunk and took off for the storage room as Septimus continued to ransack the shelves for useful items. He soon had a couple of small magically enlarged bags full of items that could be useful. Many of the annoying, distracting variety. Cappie came back quickly with a bag of fireworks and some matches. Septimus shrunk the bag down quickly, and Cappie attached it to his belt. He had some small circular things in his pocket that he had found in the storage room, he had no idea what they were, but they were hard and small enough to shoot with.

They turned to leave when George began to stir. They stopped short as he spoke, "Wha' are ya doin' 'ere?"

"We are checking your security charms George, can't have just anyone coming in for your products when you're not open." Septimus said calmly as Cappie looked back and forth at the two with concern. "Nothing to worry about, everything seems secure. Go back to sleep George."

"Al'ight, t'anks Shep. You're a real good neig'bor…" He fell back onto the floor and began to snore.

"Alright Cappie, let's go." Septimus said as he strolled out of the shop walking over the door as he made his exit with Cappie following closely as they rushed to the Leaky Cauldron.

There were people crowded around the wireless as the news was beginning to break about what was going on at the Ministry. Cadwallader and Scully were standing on the bar to rally some of the people to go with them to help fight back against whoever was attacking.

"I will not allow terror to come back to our doorstep! Either we fight now or we will have to deal with the constant threat of Death Eaters and anarchists for the rest of our lives!" Cadwallader's voice echoed like a hunting call. "We have a chance to deal them a blow! Do not allow them an easy victory over our world!"

"Cappie, maybe you should stay here."

"I went to work with my mum and dad a lot. You don't know the Ministry layout as well as I do. Besides, my friend is there so if you leave me behind, I'll just follow you on my own."

"Fine, but stay close to me, and do exactly as I say." Septimus put his hand on Cappie's shoulder and shook him to make his point. _"Do you understand me?"_

"Yes sir."

They pushed through the crowd and towards the fireplace. Septimus grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the roaring fire. It caught the attention of Scully up on the bar.

"Septimus, _what_ are you _doing?"_

"Rescuing Audrey and Lucia!" He pushed Cappie into the green fire behind him. "I intend to buy drinks for the whole alley when I get back Scully, so keep the bar open!"

Cappie yelled his destination and disappeared in a fiery flash as Septimus threw in more powder and followed suit as the bar erupted in cheers.

_"You can't afford that!"_ Scully screeched as Septimus yelled his destination and disappeared in a flash of fire.

Septimus and Cappie stepped out of the floo a couple of seconds apart to reveal an Atrium with people in dark robes and cloaks standing about looking bored. Cappie stepped back behind the old man as one of the people in dark robes walked over from where he was standing nearby. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you two will have to come with me. It's orders from the Minister sir."

"I don't take orders very well," Septimus stated calmly as he blasted the man back into two of his mates who were coming to assist him. Septimus then moved forward as quickly as he was able to the lift at the other end, stunning those foolish enough to cross him as he went and flinging darkness powder into the far corners of the room to lose some of the others. Cappie followed, watching with interest as one was turned into a teapot.

The lift was not working; Septimus cursed and went through the door that led to the emergency staircase. When the door closed her threw up a barrier to keep the enemies from the atrium out.

"Septimus," Cappie pulled his sleeve and motioned towards the black clad figure on the floor. Septimus winced. The woman was covered in large boils on his face and hands.

Septimus walked over and grabbed her by the collar of her robes and shook her. "Have two women come through here?"

The woman groaned.

Septimus slammed her into the wall. Cappie shuddered at the bone shaking noise of the impact and the wild, murderous expression on Septimus' face.

" _TALK!"_

"Up… upstairs… Twenty minutes ago…" The woman moaned before Septimus slammed her against the wall a second time before stunning her and rising to his feet with a wince.

"I'm getting to old for this shit," He looked up and groaned this was not going to be pleasant for his leg. Septimus took a deep breath and began to climb, cursing everything and everybody that crossed his mind. The Ministry, the past Ministers, bureaucrats, nosy nieces, stupid apprentices…

Cappie glanced at the man on the floor before throwing Septimus's arm that was not using the walking stick over his shoulders to help the old man up the stairs at a faster pace and listened to his tirade with interest. Maybe there was something that could help solve this problem on another floor. His father had told him about confiscated items that went a very long time without being tossed out; when his dad had brought him to work with him a couple of years ago he showed him a room full of confiscated goods. Cappie remembered exactly what the room contained and what floor it was on as his brain began to spin with a marvelous idea.

* * *

April 25th 1997

_"You have been charged with the crimes of high treason, aiding the escape of criminals, the stealing of magic, and evading arrest." The toad-faced woman exclaimed from her place above them. She gave a girlish giggle that made Audrey want to claw her ears off. That bloody cat patronus just annoyed her. "Is there anything you wish to say in your defense?"_

_Septimus straightened himself and smiled wryly, Audrey felt an overwhelming sense of doom. "Sorry, we were not aware that saving lives was against the law."_

_The three people, if Audrey could dare to think of them as such, were staring at the old man in open-mouthed shock. Audrey was looking at Septimus with something like terror once the full impact of what he had just said reached full understanding._

_"Are you trying to get us killed?" Audrey hissed as Lucia stepped a little closer to them with John at her back._

Or worse…

_Audrey looked at the gathering dementors and a wave of hopelessness consumed her._

_Umbridge was opening and closing her mouth like a frog trying to catch a fly, she composed herself quickly. "They are thieves of the rightful power belonging to the bloodlines of wizards."_

_"It's theirs by right, because the accused Muggle-borns are in fact, my bastard love children."_

_Audrey felt the need for a drink. Something hard._

_The court was silent. One man sitting next to Umbridge spoke, "They don't look a thing like you."_

_"They look like their beautiful mothers. Besides, Audrey has my ears, John has my feet."_

_"Our records say that they were born to muggles in the muggle world."_

_Septimus smiled, as he leaned a little closer to the court judges as if telling a secret. "Well, you see, I have had many illicit affairs with beautiful women of the muggle persuasion."_

_If there were not dementors swarming around them, Audrey would have felt hopeful for a better outcome then what she was expecting, until Septimus admitted to what this regime probably considered bestiality._

_Umbridge spoke again, disgust evident upon her face. "Somehow, I find this doubtful. Miss Selwyn, you and Mister Lowell shall be sentenced to three years in Azkaban for your part in this… defiance of rightful punishment of these lawbreakers. Mister Townsend and Miss Causey shall," she giggled some more, "Hereby be sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss and their wands snapped."_

_Audrey felt like vomiting as the dementors came closer._

_Septimus' smile seemed to grow, "Sorry, Umbitch, that sentence seems rather unnecessary."_

_He tapped his walking stick on the floor and a large silver animal burst forth and chased the dementors back. It was a falcon, proud and stately. The silver falcon chased the dementors back with talons outstretched. He brought his staff up and stunned the observers, summoning the wands that were about to be snapped to give to John and Lucia and the spare that Audrey had surrendered to the Death Eaters to his empty hand. Audrey took her own wand out of her boot._

_"Alright, time to go." He began to whistle a tune as he led them out of the courtroom._

_The group walked a short distance to the staircase before an employee met them; Lucia's intake of breath told Audrey all she needed to know. He seemed to recognize them as well and shouted for aid. The help he had called for seemed to appear instantly._

_Septimus moved between the three young people and those who would send them back. "GO! GO NOW!" he shouted as he began to fire spells into the gathering crowd._

_Audrey shouted his name as John and Lucia dragged her away. A crowd swarmed around them and Audrey found herself alone in the crowd. She kept moving and it all moved into a blur, she froze a couple of bureaucrats who were coming around the corner. Audrey opened the door to an emergency staircase and ran up the stairs at top speed._

_The door at the top opened into a large room that had a high ceiling overhead and a statue in the middle of the fountain in the center of the room. She pushed her way past a couple of people foolish enough to be in the way; Audrey began to scan the crowd for John and Lucia. She kept her head down waited and watched as she kept her back pressed against the wall._

_A few moments later John and Lucia sprang out of the lift at a dead sprint with Death Eaters following from another lift firing spells at them. Lucia threw a blinding curse over her shoulder over her shoulder barely missing their pursuers. Audrey rushed out to meet them, hitting the floor with an ice conjuration that caused their pursuers to slip and crash to the ground, tripping each other with splayed limbs. John took the opportunity to stun them both. The room had cleared quickly during the scuffle; people did not want to get involved._

_They waited in silence for a few moments before the silence was interrupted by a shout, "What are you_ waiting _for? An invitation!"_ _Septimus limped quickly into the room cursing and hexing those who were following before destroying the way he had come in with an explosion. "GO! RUN!"_

_Audrey, John and Lucia stood their ground and instead rushed forward to help the hobbling man. Septimus slammed his walking stick into the ground and a golden light sprung forth form the earth, protecting the group with a unique shield charm that blocked all incoming spells from their assailants as they moved forward. The spell did not prevent John and Lucia from returning fire._

_The group was soon backing in the center of the room by the fountain and its hideous statue display. Septimus was struggling to hold up the shield charm, finally being forced to drop it as Lucia fired a blinding curse into the group of seven that was continuing to pursue them. They split off into two groups to slide back behind the monstrosity of modern art to take cover as the flash went off._

_The Death Eaters had backed off some screeching and closing their eyes as Septimus caught his breath and glanced at the statue with interest and loathing._

_"Hey, Audrey, I'm not an artist but the ascetic appeal of this statue appears to be lacking, don't you think?"_

_"It's damn ugly Septimus," Audrey replied as she hexed a Death Eater who had recovered from Lucia’s assault. Lucia was casting stunning spells on the one who were not so quick to recover as John was casting shield charms._

_"That it is," He pointed his cane at the statue and said the incantation. Audrey caught on immediately and threw her own spell into the mix, knowing that Lucia and John could hold the line long enough to be involved in this._

_The statue was melting to a shapeless blob, Audrey felt like her own skin was trying to melt off her body from the sheer heat. There were outlines of dragons dancing through the flames as the fire spread from one wall of the atrium to the other, offering a wall of protection and destruction in one flap of its mighty wings. Fiendfyre? No. Something more controlled, Septimus was not one for casual destruction._

_It had been some time since she had seen Septimus cut loose like this._

_With one great push of magical power Septimus dissipated the dragon and leaned the statue’s bubbling remains eerily close to their assailants who scrambled away from the heat, dragging their allies with them as more began to come from the lifts. He flung the bubbling mass into the crowd._

_There was a lot of screaming._

_"I'll hold them off, and you three make a run for it."_

_"But-" Audrey said quietly._

_Septimus settled into a fighting stance, his staff in front of him and flaming on one end with an uncast spell. He slammed the lit tip of his staff into the earth with such force the room seemed to explode and the room gave a terrible shake as the golden shield charm appeared again. "No buts, find Aberforth. The Relocation Operation is finished. Go into hiding; leave the country if you can! Now go!"_

_Audrey could hear the enemy trying to break through the barrier._

_Lucia and John grabbed a stunned Audrey and dragged her to the nearest fireplace and left. Audrey's last glimpse of Septimus was of him putting his cane down and his hands in the air as a sign of surrender._

There was a man in dark robes standing at the top of the stairs, the sight of him pulled Audrey out of her thoughts, her wand was out quickly and she stunned him. He began to slide down the stairs on his back, it looked painful. Arthur leaned over to stop him from going any farther down the stairs, but missed and he continued to slide down another two flights before coming to a halt by crashing face first into a wall. Audrey put her ear against the crack in the door listening closely for any sounds that could be problematic for this rescue mission. Hearing nothing Audrey turned and motioned for Lucia to take out her wand. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest.

She opened the door and peered around the corners nervously, finding nobody in sight, Audrey motioned them forward and they went down the hall cautiously. Personally, Audrey was expecting more people then what she had seen so far, though none but a select few who liked to wander knew about the stairs. Everyone else just used the lifts, so those were most likely being watched.

Tip-toeing quietly with her shoulder against the wall and wand in hand, Audrey could still say she felt nervous. She set the feeling aside by taking a deep breath, she could see the doorway into the Minister's office, truthfully the immediate support staff were housed in a large office that connected to the Minister's at the other end of the office. It was more a safety precaution than anything else, though it also allowed for the Minister to give orders to his immediate underlings directly without the use of memos. Audrey stepped to the other side of the door slowly and placed her ear against the keyhole. It was quiet, far too quiet. If anybody with evil intent was there, getting the surprise on them would be preferable.

Lucia and Arthur looked at Audrey from the other side of the doorframe. Audrey pointed at the door and held up one finger, two fingers, and then three fingers. Lucia moved quickly and blasted the door down; Audrey moved behind her and fired a hex at the man in dark robes. The spell missed as he moved quickly to the side of the room as he turned to face them, his golden mask hiding his features.

Found him.

Lucia moved into the room first and conjured a shield to block his spell as Audrey moved in after her and ran towards her opponent to attack him at a closer range.

The masked man drew his wand and pointed it at the two women as Arthur took advantage of the distraction and ran to a figure near Percy's desk.

Lucia blocked the spell with her shield and it rebounded into the wall with a resounding boom. The force of the impact sent Lucia sliding back into the wall with a solid thud as her shield exploded and a giant hole appeared where the spell had hit the wall dividing another office. Audrey noted some people in the neighboring room who ran out in terror through the large hole.

_"Son of a bitch!"_ Lucia's eyes were open wide in shock at how strong that spell was.

Lucia was usually not easily surprised by power.

Audrey moved forward to cover Arthur, Percy and Lucia with a vicious assault of spells.

Lucia held her position to support Audrey with shield spells until she had to focus her attentions completely on helping Arthur and Percy, who had barely avoided a deflected spell from Audrey.

The office was a continuing lightshow of dangerous spells that were being used at an increasingly close range. The observers were pinned down by the flying spells, to weary to move and take a risk of getting hit.

The masked man roared as he sent a wave of fire towards Audrey. Her body moved without input of her mind as she called the shattered pieces of Dreyfus' cubicle to protect her as an iron shield. The heat from the flames singed the edge of her trench coat as it blew out and around behind her as the edges of the shield began to melt from the generated heat as Audrey felt herself choke on the heat and her eyes beginning to burn from the smoke. She lost sight of her allies completely as the wall of flames surrounded her.

Suddenly, the wall disappeared and the fire was redirected towards the desk where Percy and Arthur were. Percy was halfway to his feet to assist Audrey and was pulled down and out of the way by his father and barely avoided being burned alive as it moved quickly over him and into the wall where it dimmed before beginning to brighten again as it fed on books and parchment.

Percy tried to back get up and promptly fell back to the floor with a curse as one of his legs gave out from under him. There was blood coming from a wound on his leg. Audrey noted that Percy Weasley was going to be more of a hindrance then any kind of reliable help.

" _Arthur, get out!"_

"But-"

_Merlin's saggy left-!_

"Lucia, I got him, just get them out!"

Lucia was beginning to smother the fires in the office that were blocking the exit. There were several smaller ones around the office that were rapidly consuming the paperwork like a hungry beast as Lucia tried to clear a path. Each time she tried to damper the flames they grew back in ferocity. Audrey could hear the roar and crackle of burning parchment and wood behind her.

She felt like she was in Hell.

The masked man fired another spell at the Weasleys that Audrey deflected into a far off corner of the room.

"Your fight's with me, _ACT LIKE IT!"_ Audrey screamed before launching another assault.

The man's fist clenched as he braced himself before raising his wand.

Audrey felt herself fly up to the ceiling and the air rush out of her lungs as she hit it hard with a resounding bang. There was a crushing force at her ribs, the heavy defensive charms on her coat barely prevented her ribs and back from being broken. She looked down at the masked man who was holding his position to keep Audrey where she was as she instinctively tried to struggle.

Bloody hell.

He shifted quickly sending her sliding across the ceiling and tumbling through the air through the door to the Minister's office as Audrey screamed. The door crunched with the force of Audrey's impact and there was a loud cracking noise as the door broke and a gasp from Audrey at the sudden pain shooting through her back as she tumbled backwards into the office and smacked her head on the Minister's large oak desk.

Audrey scrambled to her feet, ignoring the blood dripping from her hands and wrists from when she had burst through the door. Her head ached terribly and she felt dizzy. She touched the back of her head where it had hit the desk and her fingers came back bloody.

She staggered away from the door to try and gain some element of surprise. There was paper everywhere. This office highly flammable… Maybe she could trap him in an inferno of her own?

Audrey flung small lights from her wand into random places in the office before there was a violent tug on her coat. She had not heard him enter. Audrey twisted away like a snake and shoved her fist into his abdomen. The masked man doubled over with a shout and swung his fist into Audrey's face in retaliation. Audrey cried out at the sudden pain and tried to hit him in the stomach again before suddenly finding herself knocked back through the doorway with a spell.

In an impulsive action she made a stabbing motion with her wand as she rolled into the main office and screamed a spell _"IGNEM!”_

There was a loud whoosh of fire that shot out of the Minister's office. It erupted so fast and hot that Audrey threw herself facedown to the floor to escape the heat of the blast. When it felt like it was subsiding, Audrey staggered to her feet and spat blood onto the floor from a bite in her cheek from the masked man's blow; her eye felt tender and was beginning to swell.

_"Bloody hell, Audrey!"_ Lucia screeched.

"We'll find out who-"

She was cut off by an enraged, inhuman roar behind her. Audrey turned only to see the masked man flinging himself out of the inferno through the smoke, heat, and ash. His clothes were singed and smoking and he looked mostly unharmed from Audrey's blaze. His wand was in his hands, the tip glowing with the enchantment that had saved his life.

All Audrey could focus on was the mask and the empty eyes behind it.

It was like the devil himself had emerged to drag her to hell personally for her crimes and sins. At this thought, an otherworldly scream tore itself from her throat as he took her to the floor and punched her again.

_Not like this…_

She shoved her thumb into one of the eyes of the mask causing her assailant to fling himself away with a shout that gave Audrey the chance to get to her feet and to the other side of the office, her heart pounding as if it was trying to escape the cage of her chest.

She levitated Shirley's desk into the air and flung it at the masked man's head.

The man dropped to the floor and the desk shot through the fire-weakened wall behind him. He fired a black spell at Audrey who deflected it into the ceiling, causing a large crack and large chunks of the ceiling to fall down between the combatants. Audrey moved quickly to the side as large piece almost landed on her head.

The air crackled and pulsed, the floor suddenly cracked open and cracks in the ceiling plaster began to spread. Ice formed and spread at Audrey's feet and spread around her as she began firing a barrage of spells. The masked man deflected them with a natural and almost familiar ease.

He deflected one of Audrey's spells towards Lucia where it exploded over her head. Lucia threw herself on the ground and covered her head to try and protect herself.

Audrey felt a rage burn hot in her belly. She was going to squish him like a bug. It was not about money anymore, it was all about vengeance for her friend. She fired a cruciatus curse at him and landed the hit.

He fell with a bone-shaking scream as he clutch his sides and pulled his knees to his chest on reflex before kicking his legs out and pulling himself back inward.

_She wanted him to hurt!_

Before he could rise to his feet, Shirley's desk had shot back through the wall and was back up in the air now hovering over his head. Audrey held her wand steady as the desk shook from gravity calling it back to the earth.

"It's over." Lucia stood up and had her wand pointed at him as she moved a couple of steps closer to Audrey to keep any retaliation away from Percy and Arthur who were making for the doorway with the fires extinguished. The tip of Lucia's wand was lit up for an expelliarmus spell.

The masked man rolled onto his back and blew up the desk over his head and sent the scraps of wood towards Audrey and Lucia.

Lucia and Audrey defended themselves with a shield charm, but the masked man seemed one step ahead and had fired another spell immediately, catching Lucia in the shoulder as her shield dropped to retaliate, the impact causing her to spin around and knock her to the floor. Lucia swore and moved back to her feet quickly while Audrey held off the barrage of spells. Audrey noted the blood coming from Lucia's shoulder, this had to end quickly.

Lucia took another blow as she stood that knocked her back towards the office door and into Arthur and Percy, who were moving as quickly as they were able towards the door, knocking all three of them to the floor.

Audrey's heart dropped to the bottom of her feet.

" _LUCIA!"_

She was not moving.

Audrey's volley of spells grew more intense as she dashed forward to keep him from attacking anyone else in the room. The masked man suddenly ducked low and lunged foreword knocking Audrey back. Audrey retaliated with a stinging hex that whizzed past his ear. He staggered back and Audrey leapt to her feet and jammed her shoulder into his gut with a roar and caused him to crash into a wall. He turned and pushed Audrey's back against the wall with his arm pressed against her neck before she could scamper away. Her wand fell from her hand as she pulled on his arm as she struggled for breath.

"Tell me about the book." His voice sounded raspy. He pressed his wand under ribs. Audrey winced.

"What book? I read a lot of books."

"The Book of the Dead. The book that the old man held in his possession. I'm sure he told you all about it." The wand at her ribs disappeared for a moment as he pulled a thick, tatty, leather bound book out of his pocket and held it in front of her eyes.

_Damn._

That was the book Cappie stole.

"Never heard of it, never seen it before and the old man never mentioned it to me. Sure does sound like something he would be interested in though."

He slammed her head into the wall. Audrey felt her brain rattle through her skull.

" _Liar!"_ He hissed like a snake, "Lowell tells you everything-"

Audrey started to laugh, her ears were ringing and she could feel her mind growing cloudy as the early signs of a concussion began to set in. "Lowell and I had a falling out. I have better things to do then obey the whims of a sour old drunk."

The world began to tilt to the right and she felt like she was going to vomit. She hoped to throw up on his shoes.

The man in the mask chuckled, "Then you won't have a problem telling me all about his work then will you."

"I would actually, seeing as I am still under an Unbreakable Vow."

His tone suddenly became cold and serious, "Stop _lying_ to me. I know you are lying and I find it rather offensive. Now," he pressed harder on her throat with his arm to make his point as he leaned closer to look into her eyes. Audrey gave a raspy gasp for air in response. "Tell me what you know."

_"Death first."_

Audrey reached up and quickly grabbed the mask with a free hand and pulled. It was time to see who was behind the mask. She was done with this.

She needed to see his face.

Put a name to a ruthless killer.

_This monster…!_

The mask came off, and Audrey had no words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four idiots sharing two braincells. Septimus has full custody of one, Audrey has to share with John and Lucia. They have a schedule and shared custody arrangement. 
> 
> "Go mbeadh cosa gloine fút agus go mbrise an ghloine." is translated from Irish to mean "May your legs turn to glass and the glass break." May not be entirely accurate due to the nature of the Internet, but it appears to be a close enough translation. Many Irish curses are very literal. They want you to know exactly what your demise will be, usually it is a strange and unpleasant one. 
> 
> Audrey is not fluent, she only knows a series of impressive curses she learned from her grandmother who liked to rant about the neighbors and church parishioners.


	20. Intervention

_July 11th 1998_

_The smell of smoke and burning bodies all came rushing back to Audrey's senses. The hand on her back pushing her through the door to the outside where everything was falling apart, then the sudden flare of heat at her back and anguished screams from Adamina and Martin Garland rose to an unmatched pitch. The mud seeping through the knees of her trousers and someone wrenching her up by the back of her trench coat and throwing her face first to the ground and pressing their wand into the back of her neck._

_"Going somewhere, mudblood?"_

_Damn those bastards. Damn them all to hell._

_"Nott is that one of the leaders?" A voice asked as the screaming from the small cabin continued now dropping in volume. Audrey realized her comrades were suffocating from the fumes inside._

_The man called Nott gave Audrey a swift kick to the side, Audrey grunted as she was forced onto her back. Nott placed his foot on her chest and took a piece of paper out of his pocket. His eyes darted between Audrey and the paper a few times before he spoke. "Why yes it is. Miss Audrey Evelyn Causey never registered her blood-status. Her mother was a shop clerk and her father is a detective out in London. That would make her a mudblood. " Audrey's eyes widened. "And look here, she's wanted for other things besides being a thief." Nott passed his paper to his companion. "Just turning her in alone is quite a bit of money."_

_"She's worth more with her fellow leaders with her."_

_"They've already got the old man and the blood-traitor Selwyn. We've got to find the others for the big reward."_

_Maybe John had managed to make a run for it with all the other Muggle-borns. They could disappear and be safe until the end of the war. Audrey wouldn't be so lucky; they would probably suck out her soul upon arrival to Azkaban or the Ministry for trial. Though deep in the back of her mind, Audrey realized that they could look for Adamina, Martin, and Nolan forever and only find their bodies in the cabin's remains. They most likely would never get the big money that was promised seeing as three of the seven leaders were murdered today._

_Audrey never noticed the Death Eater's foot colliding with the side of her head. Audrey gave in to the sudden darkness._

"How are you still alive? The building collapsed on top of you?" Audrey croaked as she dropped the golden mask fell to the floor with a clatter.

Nolan Odell's face was badly burned and disfigured; the left side of his face was the more mangled half. His left ear had been burned away to a stub; the left side of his mouth was burned shut. Audrey's eyes widened as she realized his left eye socket was empty. The inside, from what Audrey could see, was covered in newly healed scars. Her heart beat loudly as she took in the horrible sight and he took a step back, summoning her wand into his hand as he dropped Audrey to the floor. She took the opportunity to step quickly away, her eyes never leaving his face.

"Now, why is the answer to that question important? All you need to know is right here in front of you."

Audrey ground her teeth together in frustration, "No, it isn't. I want to know what's going on and who's behind it."

"I've already told you."

Audrey felt consumed by a hot, heated anger. That was dangerous. Nolan Odell had always been shifty, cunning, and a dangerous strategic thinker. If one played into his hands, they might not live to brag about it. Nolan Odell was the one who had devised several stops for the fleeing Muggle-borns during the war. He had given them wands, food, water. Audrey couldn't understand why he was doing this now.

"You haven't told me anything!" Audrey's voice rang with agitation.

"Yes, I have. Everything you need to know is right here in front of you." He repeated his earlier statement slowly like he was speaking to a child.

Audrey paused, her breath tightening as she came to a realization that made her blood run cold. "You're behind this. Aren't you?"

The masked man smiled, "Took you long enough."

"Nolan Odell betrayed us to the Death Eaters," Audrey said softly trying to make herself believe it. "Why?" her voice rose rasped with a rising tide of rage as she repeated the question as her wand hand shook. _"Why?"_

Nolan chuckled.

Audrey's free hand clenched and her fist hit the wall with a resounding _bang_ that made her allies recoil as the she stuck her pointer finger directly in Nolan's his face like she was lecturing a child.

" _ANSWER ME DAMMIT!"_

"Unlike our enemies, you have never intimidated me." Nolan looked Audrey and raised his eyebrow as if seeing her for the first time. "I know you too well for that tactic to work. The truth is that you don't have the stomach to kill, and I bet that fills you with shame."

A thin sheen of ice began to cover the wall where Audrey had slammed her fist into it. The rest of Audrey's body began to visibly shake.

He was not wrong about that.

"Better answer Nolan. The longer you talk, the longer you live!" Lucia grunted from the floor as she staggered to her feet with help from Arthur and Percy, her wand pointed at Nolan's back. "And if you make any sudden moves I'll blow you apart!" Lucia smiled painfully, "You'll be lucky if anyone can even find a hair of your remains."

Nolan gave a mock cringe and shivered as he turned his head to look over his shoulder at the woman, "That's _cold_ , Lucia. Perhaps you're not that different from the Selwyns as you like to think."

"I only blow pureblooded bigots apart, not the innocents who get caught in the tangled web of politics and blood-status.” Lucia bared her teeth in an animalistic snarl. _“Now drop your wand, Nolan."_

Nolan smiled, and it was the most twisted thing Audrey had ever seen.

"Sorry Lucia, I don't think I can do that. That would be quite stupid."

He fired a bright white spell from his wand, Lucia knocked the Weasleys to the floor and before she could take cover herself the spell hit her full in the face as it curved through the air in a graceful arc mid-casting.

An animalistic scream tore itself from Lucia’s throat as he hands flew up to cover her eyes, her wand falling to the floor.

Lucia stumbled backwards over Percy and fell to the floor once again. Percy picked up Lucia’s wand to begin applying a healing spell that he was having trouble applying as she reflexively covered her eyes.

"You were never much of a fighter, Lucia."

Audrey took advantage of his distraction to jump on Nolan's back and wrap her arms around his neck to try and choke him. He gasped and slammed Audrey into the wall behind them, Audrey loosed her grip with the impact to her head allowing Nolan to get enough room to shove his elbow into her stomach, winding her enough to put her on the floor as she struggled for breath as she slumped to the floor in shock.

Nolan then quickly turned attention turned to Arthur who was getting up from the floor to engage him. "I can't have you causing trouble either!" He turned his wand on Arthur and downed him with a stunner. Nolan turned his attention back to Audrey who was still struggling for air. "I needed something big to get your attention, and in turn, Septimus Lowell! You're bait, that's it." He put the book on a nearby desk. "Now, take a seat."

Audrey felt her knees bending against her will as his power forced her to the floor. Audrey gasped and found her voice, "What's in that book anyway? What is it that makes it so important?"

Nolan didn't answer. He leaned casually against the wall and waited picking up Audrey's fallen wand and putting it in his belt. He stared at the door, waiting.

"You picked some pathetic heroes to help you Weasley," he extended his arm towards the semi-conscious Lucia, "a pretty bird who clipped her own wings and," he moved back towards Audrey and she grunted as he kicked her in the ribs and knocked her to the floor. "A scrawny mudblood with abandonment issues." Nolan clapped sarcastically as he stepped over Audrey's body making sure to step on her hand as he did so, "Excellent work!"

"You know, he isn't going to come. When I said we had a falling out I wasn't kidding, so it's gonna be a long wait Nolan." The knowledge that Septimus would leave her was comforting and hurtful. At least Nolan would not get the information he thought Septimus had.

"He'll come, you know too much for him to just abandon you to his enemies."

Audrey changed the subject; “You saved my life, when headquarters burned. Why?”

“Paying my life debt to you. Hard to hurt someone with a magic bond that strong.”

Audrey felt like another swift kick had been landed to her gut. Premeditated betrayal. Lovely.

The room grew silent aside from the noise of Nolan's pacing and Audrey could not tell how much time had passed. She found herself hoping that Septimus had done what every other parental figure in her life had done and left her behind to fend for herself.

She decided that no matter what bad blood there was between her and Septimus, Audrey would rather die then allow Nolan to obtain the secrets woven into her blood and bones.

There was a noise at the door and another dark robed figure stepped inside, hunched over and looking at the floor.

Audrey froze, a chill moving down her spine. They worked for Nolan. How many people did he have working for him?

"Ah, your timing is impeccable," said Nolan, his voice calm. "I need you to take the rest of these prisoners down to the Atrium, for a public execution. That should send a message."

Audrey's blood ran cold.

"If you want Septimus so badly _kill me_ instead!" Audrey shouted from the floor. "Merely holding me up here will not be enough to get him to you!"

"That is true," Nolan sighed and smiled at Audrey, "which is why I intend to kill you last."

Audrey's eyes widened in horror, she struggled to move but remained incapacitated. This was not happening; it was not supposed to go like this! No, no, _no!_

The dark robed man stepped forward and leaned against the doorframe, his long dark robe making him rather shapeless and the large hood and mask obscuring his features. If she could do hit him with a spell from here, Nolan would hit her again but it would buy more time for reinforcements to arrive…

Audrey closed her eyes and tried to reach for even a tiny thread of power she could use to buy that time. In that moment, Audrey made all kinds of promises to whatever higher power was out there. These promises consisted of donating to charity, to be less nosy, less greedy, more compassionate, and to rip Nolan's still beating heart out of his chest.

"I don't take orders from you."

His voice sounded familiar and Audrey's eyes flew open in shock. His left hand shot out of his robes and was clutching a walking stick tightly and then proceeded to pull back the hood of his robes his mask disappeared with a snap of his fingers and met Nolan's gaze coolly.

"Now, get away from my daughter."

"Ah, my old boss," Nolan grabbed the back of Audrey's coat and pulled her to her feet, removing the spell. Pain shot through her chest and shoulder. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

Septimus blinked and squinted through his glasses at the mangled, scarred, man standing across the room. "Nolan? Merlin's pants, you got ugly."

Audrey had to stop her head from bobbing in agreement.

Nolan scowled, his face contorting grotesquely, Audrey heard him mutter, "I forgot about the mouth…" He turned his attention to Septimus who was standing calmly in the doorframe as his eyes darted from Nolan, Audrey and the pile of bodies on the floor nervously. "I'll give you the girl unharmed, if you give me some information about an item of yours." He motioned towards the book on the desk, "This one here. Do you recognize it?" Nolan levitated it into the air so Septimus could have a better look at the item in question. Audrey noticed a latch on the side of the book to keep it closed.

"You're the masked bloke who hired Cappie to steal that book a couple of months ago." Septimus' grey eyes narrowed, "I want both girls, Nolan. Keep that in your equation. If you wanted the book to begin with you must have some idea what that book is, why get us involved?"

"I can't open it. The powers that bind it are too strong; I need the spell for the unbinding. I took documents from your shop that supposedly had the information on them; there was nothing there for the breaking."

"What did you take, Nolan?" Septimus asked keeping his eyes on Nolan's wand and gripping his walking stick tightly. He looked ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Notes, and diagrams mostly, there was a star chart, and a recipe for carrot cake."

Septimus started to laugh, long and hard. He took a couple of deep breaths and looked Nolan in the eye. "It was in the carrot cake recipe you idiot. You had it the whole time; it's been coded so have fun with that."

"What?"

Septimus became very serious again. "I answered you question, now let Audrey and Lucia go."

"Finish answering my questions and _maybe_ I'll give you both. What exactly does the book do?"

Audrey watched Septimus' eyebrows furrow together. "Stories say that the book can recall dead spirits from beyond. Powerful magic is said to be recorded in its pages, along with a spell to revive the dead themselves." Septimus then stopped to take a deep breath. “We all know that’s impossible though.”

Audrey noticed Percy look over at Septimus with wide eyes that held a hint of a mad idea.

"Other rumors state that there is something ancient bound within. It is unknown what it is or who it used to be. The magic is old Nolan, that is all I know about it." Septimus continued to speak, "I just want the girls, Nolan. You can keep the others as hostages; their safety is no concern of mine."

"I'm sorry Septimus, but they've both been rather troublesome, Audrey has come very close to finding me on quite a few occasions already and I can't run the risk of her or Lucia finding out anything. It could be problematic for my goals. Thank you for your time." Nolan raised his wand and pointed it at Septimus, "Good-bye."

There was no time for a spell to be fired for at that moment a large flying shadow burst into the office. A man leapt off of what appeared to Audrey to be a flying carpet and hit the ground rolling and then ran over to help Percy and his father. Lucia was starting to stir. Audrey looked up again to see a small figure loading a slingshot and opening fire on Nolan. When the small pellets hit, they created small explosions. Nolan had to shove her out of the way so he could dodge the exploding pellets more easily. Audrey managed to grab her wand from his belt before a deep black powder clouded her vision and Audrey could not see a thing. She only knew one thing at this point.

' _Get the book!'_

Audrey crawled on the floor remembering the location of the desk. She located the leg of the desk with ease and grabbed the corner of the book. She felt its power seeping through the pages and shivered. Audrey did not hesitate; she stuffed the Book of the Dead under her coat and crawled as far as she could away from where she believed Nolan to be lurking. The smoke cleared and Audrey saw the edges of his robes leaving the room. She got to her feet with the full intention of following but was stopped by the sight of John taking care of her friends' injuries, and the rush of pain that shot through her battered body.

' _You'll find him again Aud, he wants the book, and I doubt he'll leave without it…'_

She clutched the book tightly to her chest and walked over to where Cappie was stepping off the flying carpet. "That was fun, want to try it Audie?"

Audrey responded by grabbing his ear with her thumb and forefinger and twisting. Cappie stiffened and began to yell about child abuse.

"What are you doing here; I sent you back to Diagon." Audrey turned her attention to Septimus who seemed to be backing away slowly to try and save himself from Audrey's displeasure. Lucia was rubbing her eyes and muttering under her breath. "You bastard, you brought him here."

Septimus turned his attention to Percy who was getting the full dose of John's medical expertise and walked over for a better look and to give his opinion. Audrey let go of Cappie's ear and followed, she was not quite done yet. She stepped back when she got a look at the wound John was tending to.

"I was hit by that curse once. Don't worry, boy, it's just a flesh wound."

"It's decaying!" Percy responded his voice rising an octave.

"Yeah, it's a flesh wound." Septimus said, seeming to enjoy the unnecessary teasing and the dark humor. "That same spell is why I use a cane."

Audrey gagged.

"Don't worry you're going to be all right, we have a cure for that now." John said as he gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze, as John sent Septimus a nasty glare. John returned his attentions to Percy as he began to bind his leg and using magic to keep it clean. "How long has it been like this?"

"About ten minutes I think," he hissed. "He knocked me down a couple of minutes before the rescue team showed up."

"We need to get you to the hospital quickly. I'm not taking any chances; Nolan always had a talent for dark magic."

Father and son's eyes both got a little bigger at that statement, as they looked at the group nervously. Audrey was not about to try and explain Septimus' reasoning; she was not even sure where he had found Nolan Odell to begin with. Though now Audrey _really_ wanted to know.

"You're free to go to the hospital, but I'm going after Nolan." Audrey's icy tone brokered no argument. "I'll help you all get out but that's the extent of my involvement."

" _Audrey!"_ Lucia snapped, she was blinking very hard as if she had just stepped out into the bright light of a sunny day. Her eyes were red rimmed and squinting.

Audrey's hand moved to caress her sore side and she limped closer to the group with a muffled noise of pain. "We can't waste any more time Lucia, Nolan betrayed us! I don't suffer traitors." There was ice at her fingertips and at the edge of her nose. Her eyes were dull, the color of chipped ice.

This was the face of someone who had seen too much, fought too hard and made a particular peace with death. _This_ was the dreaded right hand of the Seven, dealer of justice and sabotage to those who threatened peace. It was chilling and Audrey noted how many people cringed and leaned away from her as if her rage was contagious.

"So, you're going to deal with this the same way you deal with everything else?" Lucia broke the silence with a strong echoing voice that reminded Audrey of the roar of thunder. Lucia was so rarely angry that if Audrey could feel any kind of emotion at this point it would have been fear or deep discomfort. "By putting it in a box! Merlin, Audrey! Your father hurt you, but that does not mean you need to do everything on your own! We love you too much to watch you destroy yourself this way!"

Audrey started looking anywhere that was not in Lucia's direction. Her gaze focused on Percy, she caught an understanding, sympathetic gaze, not at all different from the looks he had given her in Diagon Alley that had made her so confused. Though some of that was probably his tone, it may have also been that he had a point she could not acknowledge at the time.

Now it was as if he could see into her soul and understood all of the scars of mistakes written upon it.

He turned his attention to his idle hands and Audrey turned her attention to the toes of her shoes like a scolded child.

"Septimus tried to erase all trace of you from his life and he came back to save us! You especially!"

There was a sputtering noise from somewhere behind Audrey. "I-It was purely economics! She knows _everything!"_

Lucia made a disgusted noise and rolled her eyes, "Real gallant of you, Uncle!" She then reached out and touched Audrey's wrist, squeezing it gently, causing Audrey to look up at her friend. "If you're still going after Nolan, I'm going with you, he deserves whatever we give him. So, what's the plan?"

"Track him down, don't give him a chance to fight back. Make him work for every inch he wants." Audrey held up the book in her hands to make a point. "This is what he wants, and he's going to have to pry it out of my cold dead hands."

Percy hissed as he got to his feet, using Arthur and John's shoulders to stay balanced and upright. "What can I do to help?"

"How about going to the hospital?" John and Arthur helped Percy limp over to where the carpet was sitting on the floor. "God, Ellie's going to _kill_ me."

"Percy, that's nice of you, but you're just going to slow us down." Lucia sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Neither you or your father have any reason to get in on our revenge scheme."

Arthur made a noise of agreement, "Percy you need to get to Saint Mungo's. You're mother is probably worried sick." He turned his attention to Lucia next. “That’s where you need to be going to.”

Audrey thought she saw a flicker of regret in Percy's eyes before they grew hard with the weight of difficult choices that could be disturbingly easy to make.

Lucia shrugged, “I’m fine.”

Percy swept his eyes over burned out husk that used to be his desk, when he spoke his voice was smothered in heavy sarcasm, "Wow, look at the state of my in-tray! All of my work has gone up in smoke!" His eyes roamed over the unsteady looking Lucia and his gaze lingered over the hunched over, badly beaten and bruised Audrey, his expression becoming sardonic as he motioned towards his injured leg. "I'm pretty involved by this point."

"It's a family matter." Audrey's voice cut like a knife through Percy's words. "I suggest you both go home to your own."

John got Percy on the carpet and motioned Cappie over to get on. "You're all free to do what you like. I have a wife and son at home and I am not leaving them alone again to go chase after madmen! I've done more then my fair share of that."

Septimus raised his hand as if he wanted to say something but John cut him off.

"No, Septimus, I'm done, that's final. You can all chase death to deal with the things you've done, but I'm going to repent for my crimes with the life I'll build because I have other things worth living for then just my pride and guilt." John looked at each person standing around him in turn as if to challenge them to say something. Lucia, Arthur, Septimus, Percy, and finally Audrey. His eyes lingered the longest on the last two before he heaved a sigh. "Now, are we going to the Atrium or not?"

Septimus nodded, "As soon as we get straightened out here."

Audrey went to sit next to Percy on the carpet until John could come help her out with a healing charm.

There was a gentle pressure on Audrey's shoulder that made her turn to find Percy fixing her with a gentle gaze. His glasses were askew and rather crooked from his fight with Nolan before Audrey had entered the office.

"Could I take a look at that?" He motioned towards the side of her face that had taken the punch from Nolan in the Minister's office.

"Uh… Sure." Audrey turned the bruised side of her face towards him. Percy put his hand on her jaw and held her still while he gently started healing the bruises. Her face felt very warm as she wrung her fingers in her lap and tried not to look at him, focusing on the threadwork of the carpet instead. The healing spell was cold and Audrey instinctively recoiled and tried to move away but Percy held her still so he would not accidently poke her in the eye with the tip of his wand or something.

"How's you head?"

"My ears won't stop ringing, and my head feels like it's been split by an axe…"

"Keep talking to me and don't go to sleep! I need you to turn around so I can have a look at your head, okay?" He put his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady as he guided her gently so her back was facing him. Audrey could not stop herself from looking at his face as she shifted.

He had pretty eyes.

"I don't recall anyone saying that to me before." Audrey could hear him smile as his hands moved slowly through her hair to try and find the source of the bleeding. His voice was rather soft and close to her ear and left Audrey no doubts that no one else had heard them.

Audrey blushed at the realization that she had said that out loud.

_Agrippa's knickers…!_

"Why are your hands so cold? They're like ice!"

Percy laughed quietly as he moved his hands a bit closer to where Audrey was sure the wound was. "Sorry, I didn't think you would be able to tell through all of that hair."

Audrey hissed. "You found it!"

Percy got his wand a bit closer to the wound and whispered a healing incantation that made Audrey wince at how cold it was. She could feel every bone in her head getting some of the icy chill and her teeth chattered on reflex.

Audrey watched the rest of their group move around the office, she drummed her fingers on the carpet in anticipation. She was ready to go. If they didn't hurry she would follow Nolan on her own.

"Are you okay?" Audrey shifted her attention to Percy as Septimus barked some final orders.

Percy stiffened when she touched his shoulder to get his attention. "Yes, I'm fine, I barely feel it now." He fixed his glasses and Audrey noted his crooked blue tie. He must have caught her looking and reached up to loosen it. "What did you do when you worked for Septimus?"

Audrey shook her head to clear away the need to lie down. "The origin of magical power, I was writing a paper on blood magic and seals. I just thought that was more interesting then Septimus's abstract pursuit of where magic comes from."

"Oh," Audrey was waiting for him to try and change the subject the way most people did when she brought up what she studied. His face lit up suddenly and Audrey was taken aback by a sudden enthusiasm, "I'd like to hear more about that, it sounds really interesting."

"Really?"

"Yes, I would. I don't know anything about it."

In Audrey's mind, Percy Weasley suddenly shot out of her list of odd acquaintances and onto her list of potential favorite people.

"I guess the best way to start is with Áine Ó heachthighearna-"

There was suddenly an increased weight on the flying carpet and Cappie crawled over to sit behind Audrey while everyone else started following his lead.

"Right, I'm flying this thing!" Septimus exclaimed with an excited laugh that should have left Audrey feeling more nervous then she did at the moment. "Hold on to something!"

"Hold onto what?" Lucia asked from the back as the carpet suddenly took off so quickly everyone was flung forward with a jolt as the carpet shot around the corner and down the staircase.

Audrey struggled to keep upright her guts churning as the carpet flew down the staircase that she had walked up not so long ago. She thought Septimus turned out of the stairwell at the fifth floor, but she had lost count as she struggled not to puke. They flew down a long corridor, the walls were so close Audrey knew she would be able to run her hands along it if she merely reached out to do so.

"I hope you all know just how many laws you are breaking with the use of this flying carpet within the Ministry. Section seven of the decree against what can and cannot be used as transportation inside of a public building clearly states-"

"That I don't care," Septimus shot back as he steered the carpet around the corner sharply causing Percy to crash into Audrey almost knocking her off. He grabbed her arm in time to stop her from hitting the floor or slamming her head against the wall.

"Go right!" Arthur yelled as a dark robed man stepped into their path. Audrey covered her eyes as Cappie grabbed her around the waist and buried his face in the back of her coat at the loud thumping noise. She tried to ignore Lucia's loud whoops of excitement. She was clearly enjoying the ride.

"Hey, what did I say about backseat driving!" Septimus shouted as he flew on down the corridor ignoring the warnings and the pleas from the reasonable few.

The dark robed man hit the floor as the carpet flew over his head, Lucia turned and shouted "Later loser!" as the carpet made another turn throwing everyone to the right, "Faster Uncle Septimus, faster!"

Audrey could now safely come to the conclusion that this was one of her more interesting adventures.

"The decree states that modes of transportation that put others lives in jeopardy-"

"Boy, you need to get laid!" Septimus retorted as he sent the carpet around another corner throwing Audrey onto his injured leg as the carpet went silent, before a couple of laughs from the back broke the silence.

"I think we all knew that, Septimus," John laughed. "I feel sorry for the girl who stuck with you Weatherby."

"I just hope it's not anyone I know particularly well." Septimus shouted from the front enjoying the uncalled for teasing.

"Hey Aud, get out of his lap!" Lucia said loudly.

Septimus whipped around, taking his eyes off the winding corridor; there was more screaming before the steering was taken over by Cappie who had crawled over Audrey's legs to the front of the rug. "Hands and other body parts to yourself!" He began to lecture as Cappie sent the carpet through a large hole that had been blown in the wall that led into the Atrium.

There was a large fight with some familiar figures in the chaos. Audrey swore that she saw Celeste Cadwallader and Scully taking down a large dark robed figure. Audrey wondered when they had gotten here.

Isra's headscarf had come off in the fray and she had transfigured it into a large curtain to bind three dark clad figures and throw them into the corner, her dark hair coming loose from its braid in long strands. A fourth one tried to floor her with a curse from behind but Dawson's shield spell had caught it in midair and sent it up into the ceiling where large pieces began to crack and fall down to them. Walker slowed the falling debris and redirected them into a corner to protect a pair of fleeing secretaries.

"Drop them off Cappie, it looks safe enough." Septimus said calmly as he examined the scene from above pointing at an exposed staircase. Cappie brought the carpet down to the appointed area and the passengers disembarked. "Alright, I doubt Nolan's left the area yet and this is his only way out. Find that traitor; I'm not giving him to Ministry justice." Septimus took a drink of whiskey from his flask, "I'll see if I can give you some air support, stairs and I don't see eye to eye." He turned back to look at Percy. "I don't think we'll be able to get you medical attention until Nolan is incapacitated, besides," Septimus' voice dropped to something menacing. "I want to keep an eye on you."

Down the stairs they all went, as Cappie was preparing for another takeoff a familiar voice stopped him. "Cappie!" It was Serena. "Wait for me!" She leapt onto the carpet and Cappie took off into the air.

"I remember you!" Percy exclaimed as he looked at Serena. "You picked my pockets."

"Forget about her picking your pockets, you should be more concerned about me knowing about you trying to pick up my apprentice!" Septimus retaliated as he waved his cane around as he steered the carpet to the open air over the fountain, he readied his staff to fire down at a black clothed man below. He fired a single spell and the man toppled down in a heap. "I got my eyes on you boy."

Percy watched the precise shot that sent a flare of nerves up his spine. "I-I am most certainly not trying to pick up Audrey, as you so crudely put it."

"So she's not good enough for you?"

"Hey, Caps, I got a galleon that says the old timer's going to push ginger off the carpet first." Serena whispered to Cappie as they continued to rise.

"I'll take that bet. What about Sloan?"

Serena scowled, "He wasn't there."

* * *

She hated him.

How could somebody do something like that?

He was their _friend!_

Audrey left them and went down the stairs into the conflict. It was chaotic. Audrey saw familiar faces and unfamiliar ones dueling with people in dark robes. Audrey hit one with a stinging hex who had cornered a little old witch who was throwing rocks at him in the absence of her wand. He hit the floor and the little old witch grabbed his wand and joined the fray.

' _Where is Nolan?'_ Audrey rushed through, looking around anxiously for some glint of gold. She found herself standing in front of the leaking fountain with Lucia who was dueling with a rather scrawny woman in dark robes. She blasted her back and turned her attention to Audrey who was standing in a puddle of water.

"Looking for him?" Audrey turned the direction Lucia was looking to find that creepy golden mask looking back at her from a few yards away. Audrey's wand was in her hand. Lucia followed her lead. "He's going to be a problem. Nolan always liked his dark magic; he was good at it too."

"Why did Septimus hire him then?"

"Not sure-"

"Lucia, I got Nolan, just keep those people clear."

Lucia's eyes hardened and she touched Audrey's shoulder as she sprinted off to help an old wizard from the law office against two cloaked figures who had him cornered. As Lucia disappeared, Nolan Odell rushed forward his wand drawn and pointing at Audrey.

Audrey stepped back and took out the book from inside of her coat. She held it out and pointed her wand at it stopping Nolan dead in his tracks. "I'll burn it Nolan. See if I don't." At the delivery of those words the water around Audrey's feet froze.

The mask hid his face; he brought his wand up in an upward arc over his head and knocked the book from Audrey's grasp. It slid across the floor. They looked at each other, then looked at the book and looked at each other again. Audrey took a step back, raised her wand, and fired a barrage of spells

Nolan leapt back and defected the first few with no problems, he dodged one that whirred past his cheek and fell to the floor the rest of them flying over his head.

"Tired Nolan?" Audrey laughed as she blocked his counter spell with a wave of her wand sending it into the fountain and causing water to flow out of the side.

Nolan stepped back and Audrey could see the terror in his eye as he shifted and prepared to hold his ground.

She took a deep breath, feeling the comforting presence of water at her feet and ankles.

There was sudden roar from the other end of the Atrium. Nolan and Audrey turned to find some of the Aurors returning from their mission and entering the fray following the Minister into the battle.

Like hell she was going to let the Aurors have him!

She turned quickly to get the first strike against her opponent but at that moment, there was a flash of green light that missed Audrey by an inch. A killing curse! If she had not turned back to face Nolan when she had…

"We don't need you alive anymore!" Nolan spat viciously. "We have the information we need. Let me take the book and I will consider letting keep your worthless life!"

Audrey's face was void of all expression, no joy in the possibility of death, no sorrow at killing a man she once considered a friend. It was a sight of pure terror.

The water around Audrey's feet moved into the air and formed a barrier of ice that Audrey sent into the fountain to fully destroy it and cause a rush of water to come pouring out. With a flick of her wand icicles began to form around her in a protective barrier.

"You brought this on yourself!"

Audrey brought her arms down and the icicles shot towards Nolan at a rapid speed. She waited for the noise that implied she made the hit. It was a dull, squishy thud that never came.

There was a wall of black fire that protected him from the impact.

"Don't you have any new tricks?" He shouted as he dropped the wall of fire and flung a spell at Audrey.

She could not get out of the way in time. When the crucio curse hit, Audrey fell to the floor with an agonizing scream as she thrashed about. It was like being cut by an axe!

She gasped for breath when it stopped. Her hand was clutched over her heart, which felt like it was about to beat out of her chest from the adrenaline and fear while her other hand reached desperately for her wand as it began to drift steadily towards a pile of rubble nearby.

"Come on, Audrey, I know Septimus taught you better! Best he ever trained? I doubt it."

Audrey's fists clenched, her wand was now to far away to reach. She rose to her knees.

"You're just a tool to him. Something to serve a man too feeble to fight his own battles." She could hear him walking towards her steadily. She could feel him at her back. "I am sorely disappointed."

Audrey spun around on her knees and with a fluid movement was on her feet the water was moving quickly up from the floor and encasing Nolan in its depths. He spun in the globe as it spun from the force and pressure of the additional water that Audrey was pouring into it from the shattered fountain.

Beads of sweat formed on Audrey's brow and ran down her face from the exertion of keeping the globe in the air. She could see Nolan tumbling around on the inside as he struggled to try and escape. His hand punched through the side of the watery globe. Audrey grunted as she shifted her aching body to seal the outside in ice, her nose beginning to bleed from the strain of controlling a large amount of magic without a wand.

She could see him panic on the inside as he stared at the ice forming on the bottom and slowly move upward.

Ten feet.

Fifteen feet.

It suddenly dropped halfway back down to the floor below.

Audrey bit her lip in concentration as the sweat dripped into her eyes. The globe moved higher into the air and the action around her stopped and stilled.

If he did not drown the fall might kill him.

Suddenly, a white-hot pain threatened to split her head in two.

She gasped as the ice stopped spreading and fell to the ground with a sickening crash. Nolan gasped for air as he turned his head to look at Audrey in total terror as she loosed a fierce scream to suppress the splitting pain in her skull and send one of her icicles through his hand and into the floor below. Nolan screamed in agony.

_Murderer…_

Audrey fell to her knees clutching her head on reflex as if trying to hold the split pieces of her skull together. Her hands were covered in blood; the healing spell on her head wound had come undone from the strain from Audrey's wandless magic.

Nolan coughed and vomited water from his near drowning as he tried to pull the icicle out of hand. _"You bloody bitch!"_

What had she just done?

She had other things to take care of; killing Nolan had to come second to keeping that book away from him and those he was working with.

Audrey ground her teeth and grabbed her wand from the floor and bound Nolan with rope before running through the nearby fighting to get to the book a few yards away as she wiped the blood from her nose and face. She was sure there were anti-summoning charms on it; she could feel them under the overpowering of dark magic that was coming from the book when she had picked it up in the office. She tripped and slammed her knee on a rock, as she got to her feet there was a loud shout from overhead. She looked up to find Percy at the front of the carpet, his glasses gone and heading towards the ground at full speed with Septimus screaming obscenities at him while Cappie and Serena held on to his robes for dear life.

_"What the fu-"_ the rest of it was drowned out and the dark robed man behind her found his head colliding with the carpet and hitting the floor like a stone. Audrey watched as they lost control of the carpet and nearly collided with the nearby wall. Instead the carpet flipped over and dumped all four of them onto the floor. Audrey winced and knelt down to pick up the book.

The book seemed to shake and scream in Audrey's hands. She could here its bloodcurdling whisper in her mind.

' _The seal… The seal has broken… I can taste freedom…'_

What was this book? She pressed it to the floor under her bleeding hands. Something like this was in Septimus' shop?

_'What is it you desire?'_

The book seemed to be speaking to everyone in the Atrium; several people had fallen to their knees, some clutching their ears to deafen themselves to the powerful voice and others were retreating in terror.

Dark magic began to seep from the pages and Audrey fell back in horror as smoke poured out of the pages, burning her nostrils and infesting the air and disintegrating all the active spells in the atrium. People previously bound by ropes and stunners began to flee. A dark shapeless figure took form over her head. It was a hand. It pounded the floor to find a firm grip and began to push as more smoke rose and began to take shape pulled out its shoulders and arms with great force over the book. The smoky hand reached down to Audrey and caressed her face.

Her stomach surged and her jaw ached with the suppressed urge to vomit.

' _I know what stains your soul…'_

"AUDREY! GET OUT OF THERE!" Septimus' screams barely reached her ears.

It turned to Septimus with a displeasure that was plain to see on its skeletal face.

' _You will get your turn…'_ Its laugh sounded like a whisper as it reeled back and flung its hand out towards Septimus who shoved Serena and Cappie behind him as they lurched out of the monster's reach. _'In due course…'_

Audrey was too scared to move, her breath was coming in short gasps and she could not think of any kind of spell to help her against something like this.

' _Now… What of you?'_ The beast's face came closer to her, tipping her face up with unnaturally long fingers so she could look at the pits of white fire that showed where its eyes were.

Audrey's eyes burned and watered from the smoke.

' _You want your mother back so your father will acknowledge you. You want him to be happy.'_

She could make out the vague images of white bones under the smoky exterior.

_‘You want to forget the horrors you have seen, the ones you helped facilitate…’_

Audrey was struggling to breathe.

' _I can make that happen!'_

It would be so tempting just to give in…

" _GET AWAY FROM HER!"_

It turned what Audrey believed to be its head angrily towards Percy who was laying against the wall nearby. It smiled maliciously, showing its pointy teeth for all to see.

The beast had found a more entertaining target.

_'You should be dead instead of your little brother…'_

It released Audrey and moved towards the incapacitated man finding easier prey. Audrey retched and nothing came out but bile.

' _Could have done better…'_

Septimus swore loudly as he hurried Cappie and Serena back and away from the monster leaving Percy behind to face his fate alone against the beast.

' _Should have protected him…'_

Percy was struggling to his feet, clearly not wanting to die laying down.

' _Better off without you… Happier without you… You think it every day.'_

Audrey could smell its putrid breath and tried not to vomit again, it smelled like a rotting corpse.

' _I can give you your brother back… For a price…'_ Its tongue wetted its lips.

She had to stop this thing. Quickly!

"Whatever your price is, I'll pay it." Audrey was too scared to move as Percy rose to his feet and staggered over towards the creature.

Audrey covered her nose with her hand.

There was something… A possible idea being thrown about in the whirring gears of her mind that could save Percy's life.

She snapped her fingers to turn a small stone into a blade the size of her pinky finger.

The thing tilted its head appraisingly; its smile threatened to split its face in two.

Audrey drew the blade across the palm of her hand with a wince.

The whispering mass seemed to be filling the entire atrium with its presence and power.

_'I guess you'll do…'_

She could see it in her mind's eye…!

Audrey began to draw.

_Your price is your soul…'_

It opened its mouth as its claws elongated, it moved forward gracefully like a jungle cat.

' _Now pay your price!'_

Audrey leaned over the book and finished the sealing rune she had found in a book she had studied with the blood from her cut palm, an enclosed circle, a triangle, the three short lines coming through the circle.

An inch away from the soul it needed, the creature began to fade. It turned its head to Audrey as she placed the final lines on the rune. Chains sprang from the book to bind it, passing through Audrey's chest as they emerged through her back. Audrey gasped in surprised, as she felt no pain from the intrusion.

The chains dragged the beast back into the book; Audrey felt an intense burning sensation and moved to the side, the chains were also made of smoke like the monster they had captured but shone like steel and crackled with magical power. The beast sunk its claws into the floor with a guttural scream that made Audrey clasp her hands over her ears.

_'No… NO! I SHALT NOT BE BOUND AGAIN!'_

It suddenly turned its face to her and lunged for her blindly, its mouth open and putrid breath consuming her as its skeletal teeth snapped barely an inch from her face.

' _Little girl, you seem to have made a habit of playing with powers beyond your ken…'_

Audrey ignored the monster and remained focused on pouring as much magic as she could into the seal.

' _You are not strong enough to keep me in this prison…'_

She knew if she lost focus it could break free and kill everyone in the atrium, sweat ran down her face, her body grew weaker from the strain, her knees beginning to tremble from the stress.

' _Many wizards stronger then you have died attempting a seal like this…'_

The chains pulled it deeper into the book.

' _What makes_ you _believe you can succeed where so many have failed…?'_

Audrey felt like she had been set on fire.

' _You are nothing special!'_

Audrey could have sworn she could feel her limbs burning, and smell the smoke and burning flesh. She had to stay focused!

_'Sealed with blood… The blood has sealed me…'_ It smiled suddenly as if struck by a great idea, its teeth glimmering like sharpened razors as it looked deeply into Audrey's eyes; it's voice echoing quietly with the softest of whispery laughs. _'The blood will release me…'_

It disappeared into the book and the rune of sealing Audrey had drawn into the book cover had faded as if it had been there for years.

Percy fell back to the floor with a gasp and a horrified look in his eyes.

Audrey put a hand over her heart to try and stop it from beating out of her chest as she fell to her knees.

The atrium broke into a hushed chaos, the fight was over with the dramatic display and people who remained were beginning to tend the wounded and the dead while others began to flee if they could manage it.

Nolan had recovered from the shock of seeing the monster within the book and was now on his feet with his impaled hand now freed, seeming to realize the battle was lost. He was on his feet and taking advantage of the confusion to flee to fight another day. He took a sharp turn down a corridor that led out away from the atrium, leaving a trail of blood from his wound behind him.

There was not going to be a second battle like this as long as there was still breath in Audrey's body.

Audrey pulled the last bit of her strength and got to her feet, ignoring her shaking knees as she left the book and ran down towards the same hall that Nolan had fled down. She never wanted to see that book again. Evil things lurked in those pages, good riddance to those who picked it up. She hoped it would burn.

Two tall men stepped in front of her. One was the Minister of Magic. They were not going to stop her. The Minister reached out and grabbed her wrist as she moved to push past him.

"What the hell happened here?" The red head asked as he took in the destroyed atrium. The rocks and rubble and the cries of the wounded and wails over the bodies of the dead. Audrey glared fiercely in the direction Nolan went as the Minister took a quick assessment of her battered, bloody body. A primal rage was the only thing keeping her on her feet.

Nolan was still alive!

He needed to be brought to justice, be it the courts or death. Audrey was favoring the latter.

"Ron, I'll get that man for questioning," The minister's voice was firm as he gestured to a cloaked figure on the ground that was twitching from the effects of a half done transfiguration. "Miss, let that man go and help get the injured to see the healers with Ron."

There was a small puddle of blood forming on the floor beneath her. It ran down her fingertips like water.

Let him go? _Let him go!_

_Unacceptable!_

"I serve the Septenary, _not_ your Ministry!" Audrey snarled viciously, the Minister recoiled slightly at the dangerous look in her eyes and her blood covered face.

Audrey wretched her wrist out of Shacklebolt's grasp and blew the red-haired apprentice Auror out of her way with a spell and continued her pursuit.

There was no sound that reached her ears aside from the pounding of her feet on the floor beneath her.

Audrey reached the corridor. There was a golden glint from his mask up ahead, she ran towards it, an expulso curse grabbing hold of her thoughts with a violent need.

_"NOLAN!"_

He turned and fired a spell as Audrey's curse left her wand at the same moment. Audrey never had the chance to defend herself; the spells collided in midair and the result threw her and Nolan to the floor as a loud explosion shook the building and left the corridor in rubble. Darkness edged around Audrey's vision and a chain rattled by her ear. She turned her cheek to the cold stone floor and coughed, blood coming up from her mouth. She felt her eyes close as she sank so deeply into the abyss it felt like she was floating away.

* * *

"You two stay here and stay down!" Septimus pushed Cappie and Serena down behind a stable piece of rock before moving towards the book Audrey had left behind. It needed to be kept safe and out of desperate hands, locked away before the bloody bureaucrat could offer himself as a sacrifice again. He looked over at Percy who seemed to be snapping back to his senses, though Septimus' experience was that anyone could look sane. Septimus saw John hauling the injured out of the rubble with Lucia's help on the other side of the atrium. Arthur was running towards his emotionally stunned son.

" _Percy!"_

Septimus had no time for idiots who were willing to throw away their lives to monsters. He looked over at the two redheaded men again with the unwilling thought that the stupid boy had probably saved Audrey's life.

He shuddered, finding the idea of a possible debt repulsive.

Septimus was clutching the book tightly in his free hand as he examined it. It looked beaten all to hell and back, but it was sturdy with no signs of rips or tears. It was clean and unsullied by blood and water, though he felt sick just holding it, but nowhere near as nauseated as he had been when that _thing_ was out. The only thing he had been able to do was lay on the ground and try not to puke. He was not sure how Audrey had held it together around such a dark force of magic.

There was a sudden enraged scream that echoed from a corridor off the atrium. Then came the room-shaking explosion that knocked several people back to the ground with shouts and screams. Septimus hit the floor with a startled cry at the pain moving up and down his body from his hip.

That was definitely Audrey's spellwork.

" _AUDREY!"_ Septimus staggered to his feet and limped as fast as he was able towards the source of the noise. He moved past Minister Shacklebolt, who was trying to help Cadwallader and Scully to their feet, as he made it to the corridor that Audrey had taken in her pursuit of Nolan. That filthy traitor! He would be one more notch on his cane if Audrey…

He did not want to think about that.

The corridor was dark and full of rubble. The dust burned his eyes as he made his way inside, tapping his cane on the floor as he went sending out puffs of air to start clearing it out so he could see. There were rocks and tiles piled high on the walls. The opposite end of the corridor was completely cut off.

There was a body on the floor and a dark haired woman standing next to it, before kneeling down to brush its hair back and away from its eyes. There was a sudden realization as the dust cleared.

"Get away from my daughter!" Septimus continued forward, his rage roaring in his ears, he had little to fear from those who fought in the shadows. The woman stood up and he was taken aback for a moment, she looked like a Selwyn with her pretty dark hair and her manner of standing as if she was the best thing in the bloody world. Great. Lucia was the only family member he could stand the sight of and could make the family's tendency for being pretentious and self-important sort of charming.

The woman began to speak. "Hello, Uncle Pius."

She would be considered a great beauty in many circles with her thick, curly black hair past her shoulders and a tall thin frame. Septimus could not tell if her hair was naturally dark or if it was the shadows and dust from the corridor. Her voice was dripping with honey behind the white mask she wore that left her mouth exposed and covered her cheekbones.

"It's Septimus, but I presume you know that already." He stepped closer to the woman who stood as Audrey lay still as a statue at her feet. He smirked, "It seems kind of funny to me that you know who I am, but I don't know who you are." He was not going to play this the way he had upstairs, he was calmer now and could make more rational decisions. Septimus just needed to remember what was a stake; he wanted Audrey out in one piece. He also wanted to know about this woman, she seemed like she knew something. "How about you tell me."

She smirked back, "Sorry, I'm like you in the sense I like a little privacy." Septimus noticed gesture to the book in his hand. "Now, about that book-"

"No, you won't get it. It should not be trifled with; it is an item for the desperate and the foolish." He paused and his voice grew firmer. "I intend to keep it safe from your people."

"How about you join us? Inquiring minds have much more to gain from collaboration for a greater cause beyond the petty disputes of _sheep."_

"Anything you offer is something I can obtain on my own. Maybe it’s you who needs our help, and my help comes with a price."

He tapped his cane on the ground and swung it in an upward arc causing the woman to reel back in surprise. Septimus spun his cane and fired again and the white light flew over her head as it spun like a disc. She never had a chance to retaliate before he next curse flew past her ear out of the other end of his staff. Septimus slammed his cane into the earth causing the ground itself to shake as rocks and rubble began to rise upwards; there were screams from the Atrium from the sudden activity. He threw out his hand to send the rocks forward towards the woman.

Suddenly, Nolan ran out from behind some rubble bleeding profusely from his head and shoulder and took her arm quickly before the rocks could turn her into paste. The pair disappeared with a loud crack.

Septimus knelt down next to Audrey a gentle green light forming in the palm of his hand and pressing into her chest to keep her stable until the medi-wizards arrived to take the injured to the hospital.

Then a desperate scream tore itself from his throat.

"HELP! _MEDIC!_ Hold it together, Audrey. Help's on the way." His hands trembled, "I can't heal you, I'm good at killing people not fixing them. I-I'm sorry, Audrey, I'm so _sorry!_ " Septimus swung his staff to fire off red sparks down to where he could hear portkeys dropping in first responders. " _DOWN HERE!_ "

Audrey coughed and here eyes flew open in panic as her body tensed.

"Audrey, it's Septimus. You're okay, everything's fine. Where the _hell_ are those medics?" He fired another round of red sparks down the corridor while keeping the healing light on her chest. "You've been so brave, so strong, I should have been better to you. I'll be better; I need you in my life, you've made me a better person while I've only dragged you down." Septimus gasped for breath, "I can't bury anyone else."

Audrey's hand began to move up slowly towards his face. Her eyes were wide open and clearly in shock but she was trying to comfort him with an attempt at a smile. Her eyes closed and hand fell limply back to the ground before she could even touch him and Septimus reached out to catch it before it hit the ground and held onto her slim hand like it was her last link to life as a last echoing sigh left her body and his staff clattered to the floor.

"No! _No…"_

"Is anyone down here?" a voice from the atrium and the sudden pounding of feet as he ran down the corridor to check it out for himself.

"YES! Over here!"

"I see you!"

" _Please help my daughter!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Septimus does not tempt fate, he punches it in the face and mocks it.
> 
> Audrey vs Nolan has ended in a very bloody draw where they have come close to death at the others hands, leaving them both with a warranted fear of the other for the rest of their lives.


	21. Limbo

_July 12th 1998_

She felt she was going nowhere. Her feet were moving but the scenery was not changing. It was a continuously dark space that stretched on forever and ever and into eternity.

An old woman clawed her way out of the nothing only say something that Audrey could not hear before being pulled back under. Audrey recoiled and felt the smoke coil around her ankles.

A great shadow beast with fire for eyes came forth and reached for her with its large hand. It's fingers turned to claws and drops of fire and dark magic fell from its mouth.

Audrey unleashed a scream that never reached her ears as she pushed forward with all of her strength to escape the monster, its skeletal face veiled behind a sickening aura.

Then came a great push from behind her. A gentle, familiar presence from a place that seemed far away in both time and distance. It continued and helped her forward past the more persistent pursuers who crawled from the shadows. Until suddenly it stopped and a slight breath brushed over her cheek and ear with all of the gentleness of a butterfly's wing, something like the comforting grasp of a hand on hers before her protector disappeared from her side.

There were moans and screams in the distance that called her to stop and remain, dark shadowy figures that reached out to grab her hands and ankles as she passed them by.

They whispered promises of rest, they spoke of eternity, they screamed in agony.

Audrey broke into a run.

She burst of the darkness, wandering into a new place full of light.

" _Please help my daughter!"_ Septimus' voice echoed through the space.

There was everything and nothingness around her.

" _Sir, please we need to take her to Saint Mungo's! She needs a skilled healer!"_

She found herself looking down on Septimus as he helped put her on a stretcher to Saint Mungo's and carried her body out to the Atrium. There were so many people crying out in pain, some were not moving at all with white sheets covering their face and bodies. Audrey felt as if she were walking through the scene.

There was John administering first aid while Lucia left his side to run over to Septimus to help him follow after her body. Lucia's face was wet with tears and blood ran down her arm as she screamed Audrey's name with such pain that Audrey felt herself shiver. Cappie and Serena were with Arthur and Percy, helping the two tall men to their feet and to the triage area. She followed after the children and in an unconscious action put her hand on Percy's back when he stumbled. She barely batted an eye when her hand passed through him.

As if she expected it.

Percy looked around suddenly and down the corridor where they were taking Audrey's body away. Cappie's hold on Percy tightened as he began to shake from the sound of Lucia's screaming.

" _Oh Audrey, no…"_ Percy's voice croaked like a frog and Audrey just wanted to take his hand but that was denied her in this state.

There was suddenly a fog moving around her feet and the last thing she saw before being consumed by light was her body being taken away.

" _We're losing her! Healer we need help here!"_

" _Audrey, stay with me, dammit!"_ Septimus' voiced echoed through her mind before it was lost to the emptiness around her.

Her vision consumed by white space once more. Audrey paid no mind to the resumed strangeness and began to walk once more. Perhaps it would change again in awhile? After all, it was just a dream.

_“Heartbeat’s gone! We need a shocker!”_

Her thoughts began to fall away.

Her memories were left behind in echoing footsteps.

As if answering her thoughts the emptiness began to fill. The space under her feet formed into a smooth wooden floor, around her furniture like bookcases and chairs appeared from nowhere. A fireplace formed in front of the bright red chairs and couch, a staircase and doors to secret places and madcap wonders followed springing forth from white smoke. Audrey ran up the stairs as each step formed in front of her feet. She felt like she was flying!

She swung open the door to her ramshackle room and its patchy third hand quilt with the small oak desk and bookshelf covered in her notes and writings. The small window that offered a view to Diagon Alley was there and Audrey could not see the street through the thick white fog. Audrey inhaled deeply and sighed contently before she rushed back downstairs to wait on her family. She was back in the living room at the heart of the shop and found herself spinning and laughing, as she had not done in months in exuberant glee.

The Septenary had reconstructed itself before her eyes!

She was _home!_

The rational part of her mind was screaming that this was impossible. The part that believed in wonders and miracles was screaming in joy. Everything would be better than it had been! It just had to be!

There was a simple white robe lying on the arm of the couch. Audrey reached for it realizing for the first time she was without clothes. Why was she naked? Her face was heated hoping nobody had seen her. She sat down on the couch and stared at the fire in the hearth.

She reached for a book on the coffee table, but could not read the words on the cover. Perhaps it was one of Septimus’ rare tomes? A seal drawn in blood appeared on the cover and Audrey flung it into the fire with a scream.

The fire was barely providing warmth and seemed to be slowly dying before her eyes.

The book sat in the hearth, untouched by the flames and disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived.

"Your favorite place in the world. I had no idea you were such a workaholic."

Audrey turned around quickly to find a young blonde woman who appeared only a couple of years older than Audrey herself. She had large bright blue eyes that gave her the appearance of a curious child. Something in the woman's face seemed achingly familiar.

It was so hard to remember little things now…

"Would you mind if I sit down, Audrey?"

Audrey… That was her name. It sounded unusual to hear things; like she had forgotten that sound even existed.

"Oh, not at all, please, go ahead." Audrey motioned to the empty space on the couch next to her. The woman sat gracefully. "Who are you?"

The woman put her hands in her lap and stared at the fireplace, seeming to ignore Audrey's question. "Nobody important, just someone who loves you very much."

Not the answer Audrey was looking for.

"You live here with your mentor, Septimus Lowell. You look to him as the father you never had." The woman smiled sadly, sounding regretful, "Aran Causey is a good man, he just… He has problems. He cannot cope with grief. I met a woman once who said the same of Mr. Lowell."

Audrey paused, was she talking about Kitty Fletcher, the same woman who was Septimus' wife? But she was dead. How could this very young looking woman have met someone who had died decades ago? This woman did not look a day over twenty-one.

"Who are you? I want a real answer this time."

The woman smiled sadly. "I'm sorry; I don't enjoy talking about myself very much." She paused and twined her fingers together slowly. "There isn't very much to tell really, my life was so short. I'd much rather talk about you, I find you far more interesting." Her smile grew into a full grin as she gently took Audrey's hands in her own. "Why here? There are so many other places that have impacted your life. I can think of several other places that changed your life in an instant."

The answer fell from Audrey's mouth before she even had time to think about it. "I was happy here. The happiest I had ever been in my life. I was free to study what I wanted, come and go as I pleased within limitations, and…" Audrey paused, her mind focusing on the man who had offered her a chance at a good life and salvation. Words flowed from her mouth like a steady river. Septimus had saved her in so many ways. "I finally met someone who I could look up to for both failures and successes, for his pride and ambition, and someone who understood why I wanted to understand magic the way I did. Septimus taught me so much," Audrey stopped, taking back her hands slowly as one hand moved to cover her mouth as a sudden realization overtook her. Her throat clenched and she struggled to speak over the large lump in her throat. "I think of him as my _dad…_ And I'll never be able to tell him that."

Audrey broke down and made a noise that sounded like a sob before tears flowed down her cheeks and a watery laugh escaped her throat.

"Because I'm dead, aren't I mum?"

Evelyn Causey gave her a gentle smile, and put her hand on her shoulder. "In a sense, you are. You are stuck on the border between life and death, your body is struggling to stay alive, but your spirit is here to rest and decide if you want to go back to your body or go back with me, but your ultimate fate has yet to be decided."

"By whom?" Audrey choked as she leapt out of her overstuffed seat angrily, "Take me to him! Whether it's God or someone else, I want to speak to him!"

Evelyn giggled, "You sound just like your father. Ready to take on the world for answers, aren't you?"

Audrey cringed.

"Your fate is being decided by you. Your body is in great distress; it's been tired and beaten down over the last year, and the blow that sent you here should have killed you. I'm not sure why it didn't. Ultimately, it's your choice whether to go back or to go on."

"My choice? How? You _died_ , you could've chosen to stay to hold your child and keep your family together! If it's a choice, why don't we all stay behind for those we love?"

Tucking her blonde hair behind her ear Evelyn remained calm and rational in opposition to Audrey's frantic questions. "Sometimes Audrey, we have no say in the matter. We just move on into a place like this and someone who we knew in life comes to tell us that it is our time to go. That our bodies are broken beyond repair and there's no way back." She smiled grimly, "I had no way back. I would've, if only for just for a few moments, to hold my newborn daughter. I felt cheated. I felt angry. My grandmother explained it all to me and I cried and tried to return to you and Aran. She couldn't make me move on until I was ready. I wanted to see the baby girl I had been waiting for. I wanted to see her father hold her in his arms like I never would. What I saw was a man broken beyond repair holding my cold, dead hands."

Audrey remained silent as a stone.

"I couldn't bear to leave Aran alone like that, but I needed to move on then or I never would. I would just watch the goings on in the living world forever. That is a fate that many who suffer sudden deaths succumb too. No matter what their loved ones say they cannot wrap their minds around the fact they are dead and just remain in their own waiting place."

"I hope I don't become someone's whole heart the way you were to father."

Audrey had no idea why she said that, though Audrey could see why Evelyn became Aran Causey's reason for existence. From the minutes, or perhaps hours, she had been here, Evelyn Causey had been almost exactly how she had imagined her mother, kind, gentle, and extremely patient about explaining everything to Audrey. She seemed like someone Audrey would've gotten along well with. And, Audrey imagined, she wouldn't ignore her for a week when she found out she was a witch the way her grandfather had.

"Your life would've been very different. Aran would've had to work all the time anyway and you would've spent more time with babysitters then your father. Perhaps it was a small mercy. Your grandparents loved you. I'm just sad your father never got to know his daughter personally or about the life you have led."

"He's happier not knowing, trust me. No man wants to know his daughter could've become a victim of genocide if she stayed in the country, but stayed anyway to help others get to safety." Audrey's voice rose in uncontrolled rage as she began to pace like a wild animal in a cage, her speech becoming faster and harder as she moved about the room. “Then have the whole operation fell apart when one of the leaders, a man you _trusted,_ goes turn cloak and sells you and everybody else out for gold, and some dark magic spells." She paused and took a deep breath as her voice lowered to a soft, cold tone. "I'm going to kill Nolan Odell very, _very_ , slowly." Audrey's hands moved subconsciously towards the place where she usually kept her wand.

Evelyn leaned away from Audrey nervously as her daughter's eyes bulged and her wand hand shook violently. There was ice on her fingertips.

Damn Nolan.

"Audrey, sweetie, killing and violence are not the answer. I think you've seen enough to know that."

"Mum," She'd always wanted to say that word and she relished it on her tongue. "I don't care anymore. Nolan Odell is a problem-"

"Who you will meet again either next week or years from now. Odds are he'll find you before you find him."

"If I have something he wants. Like that damn book."

" _Audrey!"_

"What?"

"You know what."

"Okay, sorry. Geez…"

Audrey propped her chin on her hand. The Book of the Dead… Plans needed to be made for its safety… Plans for the long term protection of the artifact, it was a sick and disgusting item that Audrey knew should not be left anywhere unattended for too long or at all. The things it could do if its full powers were released, Audrey had only touched a small fraction of its power and even in death could still feel it coursing through her. She shivered, Book of the Dead indeed. Septimus knew how dangerous it was, (she hoped); he would make arrangements for it if she could not return. Sealed with her own blood, Septimus would be sure to put that to use somehow.

Ancient sorcerers spoke of blood magic in their old texts. Yes, it was a powerful act to give your life for another. Though there were other ways to ensure protection of a specific sort using the blood in ones veins. Spells of protection and sealing in particular that Audrey was preparing to write a thesis paper on for the society before the shop burned down. She had impulsively scrawled a bloodseal on the book before it could start devouring Percy.

How would she pay for that?

Audrey sighed and curled her toes over the wooden floor for a moment as a silence washed over them. What did she have to go back for? A world struggling with the repercussions of a war so terrible, bloody, and violent that the best of humanity was left behind for safety and security? A dead-end job working for people who would not have batted an eye at another dead mudblood three months ago? People who had betrayed her and some who had actively tried to kill her violently for information and baiting? These were superficial reasons but they made life that much harder.

Audrey looked at the warm fireplace with the dimming fire in the hearth. It was nice here, but there was something missing.

Life.

"You have a lot to go back for, think about that, sweetie." Evelyn said so softly it was practically a whisper. "There is so much ahead of you and I don't want you to die younger than I did without knowing what those things are…"

Audrey's eyes closed and her breathing steadied as she began to think of all of the people in her life. Lucia's fairness, intelligence and loyalty; John with his ambitions of a better future for his son and Ellie; Cappie and Serena's struggles for closure and some form of normalcy after all of the horrors of war. Septimus with his drinking and penchant for gossip.

There was one more image in Audrey's mind, which caused her to smile. Percy's easy hand of compassion and willingness to listen, he chest tightened, he was just so nice. She had a feeling she was going to become rather fond of the Minister's lap dog.

She stood, fists clenched at her sides. Audrey inhaled deeply and looked at her mother with a grim smile. "I'm going back; there are still a lot of things I need to take care of. Besides, I think the old man would be pretty bored if I left."

"I think a few other people would be too," Evelyn said as Audrey's form began to fade. Her voice suddenly became very stern. "Now, I don't want to see you back here for a very long time. Don't come back until you give me grandchildren!"

"Goodbye mum!" Audrey laughed and the outline of her body walked out of the Septenary's front door and into the nothingness beyond, leaving her mother with tears streaming silently down her face.

"I'm so proud of you. Please stay safe…"

Evelyn Causey turned and walked towards the Septenary staircase with her white dress trailing behind her and was swallowed by white clouds and smoke as the vision of the Septenary faded from Audrey's eyes as she turned to look over her shoulder for one last longing look.

* * *

There was an obnoxious snoring sound coming from the bed to Audrey's right. Audrey moved her head slowly, ignoring the pain shooting through her body, to see where she was. The starch white walls and dividing curtains told her all she needed to know. Saint Mungo's or hell, were her only viable options. Neither one was very nice.

She tried to sit up, she could barely move her arms without wanting to scream and bit her lip when the pain came. Audrey groaned and gave up on sitting up and turned her head in the other direction. Her whole body felt like it was on fire and she was near tears from the burning sensation. What the hell did Nolan hit her with?

Audrey found a familiar grizzled figure sitting in the chair next to her bed. Septimus' head was propped against his hand, his elbow on top of a tome of ancient runes. There was a dim light coming in through the window curtains that outlined every line on his face. Audrey sighed; every year of his life could be seen in his face. Septimus was right; he may have been getting to old for heroics. He had also claimed that age was not going to stop him completely, just slow him up a little. Though even that seemed unlikely the way wizards seemed to age.

Audrey smiled for a moment before reaching over to poke Septimus; he was just within reach but hissed in agony at the pain that shot through her shoulder when she touched his hand. He snored loudly in response. Audrey giggled and stopped suddenly when she realized what Septimus was holding in his lap, it was her box with all those letters she had told him to burn if she died at the beginning of the war. She breathed in deeply –Merlin's staff that hurt too- as she tried to relax on the feathery pillow and closed her eyes.

"I'm awake you know."

Audrey shot up with a hiss as bone shattering pain rippled through her chest and shoulder. "Don't do that!"

"Well, I have your attention now." He was giving her a strange look that was anxious, and full of concern as he put his hands on her shoulders and helped her lay back on the bed. Audrey winced and tears formed at the corners of her eyes. "Seven minutes, you were dead for seven minutes." He took a deep breath. "We need to talk, we are going to have a great many discussions over the next couple of days, but considering everyone else in this place is asleep we'll start with this one." He held the box up and Audrey knew exactly where this discussion was going to go. "Fifteen letters addressed and unsent in a box, I hope you will be glad to know that I sent them."

That was not what she was expecting.

"I wanted you to burn those!" Audrey yelped, covering her mouth as she realized how loud her voice sounded her own ears. The snoring on the other side of the curtain stopped and was replaced by rustling sheets for a moment. Septimus and Audrey were silent until they were sure he had gone back to sleep. Though Audrey heard no snoring. She ignored her gut instinct on the lack of privacy as she focused on glaring at Septimus. Her cold look ceased immediately when he held the open box in front of her to just display opened letters in varying degrees of childish scrawl to her father, Aran Causey. Audrey felt her face growing warm. "Oh, you were joking."

Septimus smiled, "Yes, I was." He placed the box on the bedside table next to Audrey, "I've been here for six hours waiting to tell that joke too. Now, on to other matters, I'm going to give you some advice that has nothing to do with liquor or magic, so I suggest you pay attention." His voice became soft as he adjusted his glasses and moved the chair closer to Audrey's bedside. "Your father made a choice and lost his opportunity to know what an incredible person you are, it's his fault not yours. You did nothing wrong. So quit blaming yourself for things that you have no control over."

The corners of Audrey's mouth twitched, "He had every reason to hate me, I killed my own mother." Septimus flicked the side of her head with his finger.

"Not your fault either. If your life had not turned out the way it had, we never would have met. You'd probably be a too quiet secretary in some ministry department, wasting away the vast potential in magic and intelligence I see in you."

"I have no idea what it is you see in me. You've had six apprentices before me, why am I the only one you haven't chased out or frightened off? I don't understand it!"

Septimus blinked, "We always find people we need when the time is right. I needed someone to kick my ass occasionally, and you needed someone to care about you as an entire person the way a parent would. You needed a home. I see a lot of things in you Audrey, and telling you what those things are would mean nothing in the long run."

Audrey's eyes began to water.

It took a moment for Septimus continued to speak, "I thought of you as my apprentice, at first, just some impetuous child who needed help to find her way in the world and you became so much more to me a such a short span of time. You reminded me of a lot of things I had almost forgotten about. I've never been a lucky man, but you are the third best thing that could have ever happened to me when you walked into my shop and asked me for a job."

"W-when my father left, I must have already done some magic or something, and he called me an abomination. I always thought growing up that love from others, your family, was earned. I realized while we were helping people go abroad, all of those parents always loved their children unconditionally." Audrey glanced down at the sheet she had clenched in her fists, her eyes red and puffy from pain and emotional distress. "I wondered why my own father never cared for me the way those parents cared for their children. The way _you_ cared about me. And I realized that there is something wrong with my father. The past three years, you've been more of a dad to me then my own father."

Septimus stood, "Well that's…" He paused; his glasses were a bit foggy. "I'll see you in the morning, Audrey." He squeezed her hand gently as he stood up. Septimus turned, opened the curtains and suddenly stopped. "I always hoped… that if my Laurel had gotten the chance to grow up," he paused. "She would have turned out a lot like you."

Audrey thought he sounded for a brief moment, like he was choking on words left unsaid. As the curtains swished closed behind him, Audrey finally gave in to the burning pressure behind her eyes and released a choking sob that she barely managed to silence behind her hand. Her tears were hot and heavy as they ran down her face.

In a strange way, she felt whole again.

* * *

Audrey awoke the following morning to find a scary sight at the bed next to her. She was one quite a bit of pain potion and thought for a brief moment she was hallucinating. It looked a fire before she realized that it was just a very large crowd of redheads. Her fuzzy vision came into focus and she recognized the older woman who was trying to fluff Percy's pillows while he tried to wave her off. Audrey's eyes widened fear filling her mind. That was the lady who killed the crazy Lestrange woman at the Battle of Hogwarts. Oh Merlin… That woman was scary… Was she his mother?

She looked over to her bedside table to find several bouquets of flowers with cards attached. There was a bouquet of yellow tulips, and violet mums with a card. Audrey reached for it with a slight noise of pain to find out who had sent them.

_Audrey,_

_You are far more courageous then we ever suspected you of being. The rest of the department is bursting with pride at having such brave, clever and talented witches such as you and Lucia working with us and the rest of the security staff just won't stop bragging about it, it's quite endearing. We all pitched in and sent you both flowers to wish you both a quick recovery._

_Everyone wants to hear the full story when you come back. Brace yourself!_

_Wishing you a quick recovery,_

_Henry Dawson and the rest of the security team_

_P.S._

_Please don't do anything like this again. I can't handle the stress. I'll come by to visit you and Lucia after work._

Audrey grinned as her cheeks grew pink. Dawson was a very kind man and Audrey would tell him so when he came to visit later. She put the card from Dawson on the table and picked up the second card next to the very pretty bouquet of yellow roses, irises and blue hydrangeas.

She did not recognize the handwriting.

_Audrey,_

_Molly and I can't thank you enough for what you and Lucia did to help Percy and I back in the Ministry. We would prefer to thank you both in person but neither of you seem up to large numbers of visitors at the moment, so we'll come do that later. What we would like to do is invite you both and your family to one of our Sunday dinners when you are both feeling up to it._

Audrey felt her stomach rumble quietly at the idea of being fed before she finished reading the letter.

_Best regards,_

_Arthur and Molly Weasley_

There was a postscript in much loopier and fancy writing at the bottom of the page. It was much different then the handwriting in the main part of the letter. It was shaky and nervous looking.

_P.S._

_Audrey-_

The next two sentences were crossed out. It was still legible and made Audrey smile but she moved onto the sentences that were not crossed out.

_I would prefer to thank you in person, so I'll wait until you're awake. When you're better, would you like to play cards or something? I think we're both going to be here for a while and you're a much better card player then Felix. By that I mean you don't cheat._

_Percy_

Audrey laughed quietly.

"Okay, what do you want? _Prophet_ or _Quibbler?"_ Septimus asked as he appeared suddenly at the foot of her bed with the Daily Prophet in front of his face as he read the headlines, the Quibbler tucked under his arm and what Audrey believed to be spiked tea in his remaining hand. Audrey yelped and shoved the letter under her pillow, her face turning pink as she laid down and tried to look as ill as she was able.

She slowly turned around to face the wall and pulled the covers over her head. Pretending that she was not there. It did not work for long.

"Get out of there; I know you are not asleep."

Audrey groaned as he set down his tea on the table and yanked the covers off her head, "Alright, it's good to know you're not dead." He smiled and sat down in the nearby chair. "Might as well get you up to speed. Everyone is just fine, John escaped without a scratch, he and the security department are coming to visit you and Lucia later."

He paused suddenly and fumbled with the Daily Prophet while he threw the Quibbler onto the foot of Audrey's bed. He seemed to be trying to find the words before deciding to go plow forward with his characteristic bluntness.

"Lucia was hit with a slow acting blinding curse up in the Minister's office, due to the lack of immediate medical attention or a proper counter curse, the Healers have told her she will be completely blind in a few years.”

Audrey gasped. “Oh my God!”

The words of an elderly seer flooded Audrey’s mind. ‘ _She will never see herself as old as I.’_

“She's not scared, she said something about not needing eyes to truly see or some such thing. I think that was the concussion talking. She'll be cleared to go back to the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow morning." Septimus gave Audrey a hard look, "You, on the other hand will be here for three weeks and I've had a hell of a time telling the press to get stuffed because you are in no fit state to be bothered." He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I've been telling your bosses and everyone involved that you and Lucia want to remain anonymous as a gesture of… good will and solidarity to reconstruction efforts. The Minister wants to see you both as well. Probably wants to know why his office has been reduced to ash."

Audrey looked at her hands sadly biting her lip anxiously, what kind of future was Lucia going to have? On top of that, the Minister wanted to see them, Audrey was going to have to tell him either the burning of his office was a _symbolic gesture_ or the masked man did it. She would pick one later.

Wait, Percy and Arthur saw that.

That took lying off the table then…

_Bugger…!_

They were silent for a few minutes before Audrey spoke on another matter entirely; her voice had a chilly edge. "Why did you hire Nolan Odell?"

"Um…"

"He tried to kill us; I have a right to know."

Septimus looked really uncomfortable, "Well, you see, the exact details escape me but…" He drank his spiked tea. Audrey glared at him. He shuddered, "Don't look at me like that, it's a bit eerie." He finished his tea, "I… er. I met him in a pub in Knockturn Alley, he bought me a drink and we got to talking. I remember asking if he would like to be involved and him telling me yes… He seemed like a somewhat decent bloke, in my defense an associate of mine gave him a very good recommendation before I even met him."

"Buying you alcohol is a sign of trust?"

_I need something to hit him with something… Something large and heavy. Where's my wand?_

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a shout from the door that led into the ward.

"I thought I recognized those eyebrows!" Marion Higgins' stood in the doorway looking at Septimus with some kind of deep boiling anger. Strands of her grey hair were flying askew from her bun in all directions.

Audrey could do nothing but watch the scene unfold; she was too confused and sore to act. She looked over at Septimus who looked just as confused; obviously he did not know Madam Higgins.

"Do you even _remember_ me?"

Septimus shook his head quickly as the little old woman marched forward getting the attention of everyone in the ward, she looked angry. In Audrey’s eyes, she seemed close to breathing fire like a dragon.

"Forty years ago," she continued coming closer to Septimus, a snarl crossing her features and she drew her wand. Audrey felt just as scared as she had when she had fought Nolan. " _YOU_ _LEFT ME AT THE ALTAR!"_

Madam Higgins pushed the tip of her wand into his chest. Septimus' eyes widened in horror, Audrey guessed he remembered her now.

Audrey felt she was beginning to sense a theme with the Selwyns who had left the family fold for their own desires. Lucia had bragged about leaving her fiancée at the altar. Though then again, he had been twice her age, a Voldemort supporter, and had found her breasts more fascinating than her face.

_"Marion?"_ Septimus said stupidly as he dropped the papers, put his staff up in a defensive position and backed away slowly, like one would from a wild animal. "How have you been?"

She responded with a suggestion so foul that even Audrey was impressed.

Audrey decided in that moment that whatever Marion did to Septimus would be far better than anything she could come up with in her drugged state and proceeded to prop up her pillows and settle in for the show.

Percy and his family were watching with interest, though the matriarch and the beautiful blonde woman seemed more disgusted than anything else. Most of the men by the bed seemed to be smirking behind their mother's back while the redheaded girl was giggling.

Marion turned her attention to the Weasley family, leaving Audrey feeling relieved and giving Septimus a chance to escape and hide on the other side of Audrey's bed. "How are you doing, Percy?" She sounded more pleasant now.

"Fine, Madam Higgins." He smiled slightly.

"Good, I brought you and Felix some things to read along with some crosswords, I know a lady who makes the puzzles." She dumped a book with a bunch of papers tied to it on his bedside table. Percy thanked her profusely while he looked excitedly for a quill. "Now, where is Felix anyway?"

"Did someone say my name?" A voice from the other side of the room piped up. "I'd come see you but someone gave me a lot of pain-potion and cursed my arms."

Madam Higgins grinned, "I have a book for you."

"If you were fifty years younger _I'd_ marry you! You're to good for the old bloke you were screaming at."

"Ha! I always knew that much!"

"If you read to me, I'll take you to dinner when I can move my arms again!"

As Madam Higgins walked over to Felix's bedside Audrey smirked as Septimus peered over her bed to watch Madam Higgins disappear behind the curtain.

"You were supposed to marry her?" Audrey whispered pointing at Septimus and Madam Higgins' general direction.

"It wouldn't have worked out. I loved someone else, she married a nice Muggle-born several years later, and she scares the _shit_ out of me." He counted those factors on his fingers as he said them.

Audrey started laughing and stopped short with a pained wheeze. "Laughing hurts Septimus, stop being funny."

"How much pain potion did they give you?"

"Too much and not enough."

Septimus patted her on the top of her head, the only part of her body that did not hurt, before going to collect his newspapers from where he had dropped them before setting them down next to Audrey.

"I'll come back later, if she's going to murder me you don't need to be a witness."

"Wait," Audrey's voice was soft and sounded strained from the effort of speech, "I have one more question."

Septimus stopped short, "Yes, my dear?" He returned to the empty seat next to Audrey sitting back down and taking her hand gently.

Audrey waited for him to settle in before she found her voice and asked her question.

Loudly.

Because Audrey was petty that way.

"What in the _hell_ was in that book?"

The Weasleys got quiet on the other side of the curtain and Septimus reacted quickly to try and preserve his secrets, closing the curtains with a tap of his cane on the floor and a second tap to throw up a noise distortion barrier.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Septimus-"

"The Weasleys work for the Ministry, I don't want to get hauled in for questioning yet!"

"Please just answer the question."

Septimus huffed, and exhaled loudly. "Merlin's pants I have no clue." Septimus shifted in his chair to rest his elbows on his knees as he hung his head in defeat and hid his face in his hands. "Swain is not going to take that thing now. I don't want either of us messing around with it." He ran his fingers through his hair. "You put a good seal on it though, excellent work. Whatever that thing is, it'll stay in the book for a long time."

Audrey wrung her hands in her lap and bit her lower lip as the images from the battle flashed through her mind. The putrid smell of smoke and dark magic filled her nose and clouded her thoughts with memories of sharp jagged teeth and eyes like fire. "So, where is it now?"

"It's not with the Ministry. It's safer with us."

" _A child stole it!"_ Audrey hissed through clenched teeth.

"An _exceptional_ child," corrected Septimus with an amused grin, "we don't meet those everyday."

Audrey turned her head and looked at Septimus coldly. "I can't do that again. Sealing that… _thing_ damn near drained my magic."

Septimus' steel grey eyes hardened. "I promise, you will never have to worry about that again. When I find a safe place for it, it leaves. If that place is with the Ministry, then that’s where it goes."

"That-" Audrey tried to sit up and groaned as the world spun around her, Septimus leapt out of his chair and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Audrey, just lay back down!"

"-Is something we should talk about when I am not high on painkillers." She eased herself back down onto the bed with some help from Septimus as her arms began to shake. "God, I hate this."

"We'll have that conversation when you get out of here."

"Okay…" Audrey's eyes felt heavy. "You should go before Madam Higgins remembers you're here."

Septimus brushed a few stray hairs from Audrey's face and moved away from the bed. He tapped his cane on the floor and the dull noise of the hospital filled the space by Audrey's bed once more.

"I'm going to see Lucia so you can rest. I'll come check on you later."

* * *

A couple of hours later after Marion Higgins had gone back to repair the library Audrey and Percy found themselves talking. Audrey was avoiding the question she really wanted to ask out of politeness. Why did he offer himself up to the creature from the book? If he did not bring it up, Audrey sure was not, at least not now. The timing was not right. He had sat down in the empty chair next to her bed propped his injured leg on another empty chair and was working on a crossword while answering her questions about his health.

He kept coming to sit next to her when Septimus went to see Lucia or going to run some other errand. As a result, Audrey never was without company and Percy just seemed incapable of staying in bed to rest. He always seemed to want to be busy for the sake of being busy. He moved around as much as he could when the assistant healers were busy elsewhere. Mostly wandering over to Audrey's bed to talk. Percy said she was one of the few people in here he actually knew, liked and was awake. Though he wasn't talking to Felix as much as she thought he would be and he was on the other side of the room. Felix seemed unusually giggly every time Percy took a seat in that empty chair.

Side-effect of the drugs, maybe?

"So, how's your leg?"

"Fine, they expect I'll have a full recovery." Percy replied as he answered the last word on his crossword. "Finished." He set his quill down on Audrey's table and shifted in the chair a bit. She admired his profile for a moment.

Agrippa's knickers he was handsome.

Smart too.

"You just did three days worth of crosswords in two hours. That's kind of creepy."

"I've been involved in stranger things."

"What kind of things?" Audrey asked looking over appearing interested. She was bored, somebody this straight-laced had to have some kind of interesting uncharacteristic experience that could pass another few minutes here. “Aside from almost getting eaten by a plant.”

"You don't want to know."

There were sudden visions of Percy dancing around in a tea cozy.

Drugs.

To many drugs.

He moved some papers around on Audrey's table that he had brought over. "Oh, missed one. Do you know the old English word for bagpipe?" Percy asked as he picked up another crossword.

"No, sorry."

His mother walked in and Audrey considered diving under the bed to escape her notice. Septimus wandered in behind her holding the Quibbler up to his nose deep in some sort of article, while Cappie was tossing a small bag of money into the air happily, followed them into the room. Cappie ran over and sat on the edge of Audrey's bed as Percy quickly got up and moved quietly back to his bed before Septimus could see him.

"Aud, look at this!" He opened the bag gleefully to show her the money inside. "I won this off a scarred bloke in the tearoom. I challenged him to a game of darts and won. His wife was laughing when I walked off with his pocket money." Cappie's smile was wolfish.

"Did you hustle him?" Audrey looked at Cappie suspiciously.

"No…"

Septimus was nodding behind him as he moved his gaze over to Percy who was being told goodbye by his (in Audrey's opinion) rather scary mother. He moved closer to them to stand next to the bed. Percy had definitely been spotted slinking back to his side of the curtain.

"If you need us, just send word okay. It takes nothing to floo over to St Mungo's."

"I will, mum." Percy sounded a bit exasperated.

"Good, we will come back tomorrow to visit you. The Healer told me you'll be able to go home tomorrow or the day after depending on how you're leg is doing. Though you will be here longer if you don't stay in bed like you're supposed too."

Molly looked over at Audrey, who promptly grew paler and put a hand on Cappie's shoulder and tried to smile awkwardly.

"Don't worry ma'am, we'll watch him, won't we?" Septimus seemed to be addressing the entire room of patients who just ignored him. None of them were too fond of Percy after his snoring had kept them awake all night. Audrey was not bothered because she could sleep through anything, but everyone else had staged a revolt and began to throw things at around three in the morning.

Audrey knew better then to take her eyes off Septimus and kept her eyes on the scene watching Mrs. Weasley's nose wrinkle in disgust. She elbowed Cappie in the ribs to get his attention.

"Nothing to worry about, right boy?" Septimus smiled a bright semi-drunken smile and smacked Percy's injured leg.

Twice.

Percy shot up and reached for the afflicted area with a muffled noise as his eyes almost popped out of his head from shock.

_"Ouch,"_ Audrey and Cappie said in unison as Mrs. Weasley gave Septimus a look that would have sent people who were not intoxicated in the other direction. The minutes until she left were awkward.

"So, you were Martin Garland's informant?" Septimus suddenly leaned in a little closer to Percy; Audrey could barely hear what he was saying, she and Cappie leaned closer to hear better. "He said he had some young bloke in the Minister's office. I didn't think it would be someone this weedy. Though, if you could hold off a legilimens like those working around the Ministry, Garland made a good choice then."

Percy looked at him blankly, "How would you-"

"Know that? Well, you see, Garland was working for me. Make of that what you will."

"Why did you hit me then?"

"That was for flirting with my assistant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower symbolism/ meaning - yellow tulips used to mean 'hopeless love' but are now commonly used to express cheerful thoughts.
> 
> Violet mums- a wish to get well
> 
> Yellow roses- previously a meaning of jealousy, they now represent friendship, joy and caring. 
> 
> Irises- Primarily mean faith, hope, wisdom and purity depending on the colors. If given as gifts they convey deep sentiments.
> 
> Blue hydrangeas- frigidity and apology.  
> __________
> 
> In Catholic tradition, Saint Lucia, also known as Saint Lucy, is the patron saint of the blind.
> 
> I am very entertained by Audrey being scared of Molly Weasley. I am also entertained by Septimus being the future father-in-law from hell. Septimus and Molly have a rather, tense relationship that they set aside for their granddaughters whenever they have to be in the same room. 
> 
> Yes, Cappie hustled Bill for pocket money.


	22. Epilogue

_August 31st 1998_

The back rooms of the Sneezing Snitch were only available to close friends of the barkeep. Usually to discuss private matters and have small meetings, these meetings did not normally consist of the personal lives of the attendants over cheese and crackers for the testing of new product for the pub from one of Scully’s suppliers.

Cappie and Serena were trying to levitate a feather with their new wands; they would be leaving for Hogwarts in the morning. Audrey would miss them, but for now it was nice to spend time with friends, even if the conversation had taken a personal turn.

"What do you mean you both talked about dating?" Lucia leaned forward and grabbed Audrey's shoulders, her new glasses with the thick lenses sliding down her nose. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Well," Audrey started as John and Ellie pressed in closer from the right side of the sofa and Cappie and Serena left their magic practice and came in from the left. Audrey twisted her hands in her lap. She looked up at the ceiling as Scully put down his drink and rushed forward to sit on the arm of the sofa on the other side of the children and leaned over them as much as he could. Audrey smiled as an energy of mischief consumed her tired body. _"Well…"_ She drawled.

"Out with it woman!" Lucia shook her again.

"Percy and I think we need to get our lives together before we even consider seeing anyone, let alone each other."

Her friends were quiet.

"I'm opening the betting pool at five galleons for a Christmas snog," John stated as he pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket.

" _Why_ can't you two just have sex to work out your issues like normal people?" Lucia hung her head and took her hands off Audrey's shoulders.

"Put me down for Halloween," Ellie chimed in as she tucked Junior's blanket a little tighter around him.

"Because we both have too much on our plates already," Audrey shrugged.

"I've seen this before, I give them a month before he loses his mind and pulls Audrey into a broom closet." Scully chimed in as he threw a galleon at John's head as Celeste rolled her eyes behind him.

"Don't assume other people are like us."

Scully looked back at Celeste with a wolfish grin, "More people should be, we don't mess about with conventional courtship ideas."

The rest of the couch shuddered and tried to scout away from them at the lecherous tone of Scully's voice.

Celeste's responding stare was cutting and she kept her and Scully's eyes locked together as she reached into her pocket. "John, I'm in for twelve galleons at New Years and if I'm wrong I'll drink a bottle of Sam's homemade swill."

* * *

_September 1st 1998_

"Careful, Cappie."

"C'mon Audie, hurry up!"

Audrey walked faster to keep up with the eleven year-old pushing the trolley through the station at a high speed almost taking out a businessman who was walking with his wife. Audrey apologized to them as she rushed to keep up with him as he arrived at platforms nine and ten. He stopped and turned to wait for her bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly. She moved next to him looked around carefully before shoving him into the wall and following closely behind him.

The train whistled loudly and Audrey looked at the crowd of people nervously. There were a lot of people, a lot of kids who were going back to finish their studies after the war. Audrey wondered whether Cappie would like being surrounded by all of those other kids. He openly admitted he had not associated with too many other kids as a child. Audrey had not either, but she turned out all right. They stopped and unloaded the trolley.

"Alright, Caps, one… two… three… heave!" They lifted his trunk and put it into the loading carriage. "Let's go put you somewhere."

"I wonder where Serena is, I hope she made it." Cappie said as Audrey put an arm around his shoulders as he clutched a rucksack of leisure reading books and other such amusements for the ride or when he had some downtime over the weekend. She was hoping it would keep him out of mischief. No chance of that.

"Don't worry, she probably did. Mrs. Palmer may be really chatty, and slightly deaf, but she's going to get Serena here on time. If you don't see her on the train you'll see her at the sorting."

Mrs. Palmer had leapt at the opportunity to become Serena's foster mother so she would not have to go to an orphanage. Mrs. Palmer was in the process of formally adopting her. She thought Serena was adorable and she had always wanted a girl to spoil seeing as both of her children were boys and had moved out a few years ago, though her eldest was working for her at the restaurant. The last time Audrey had seen Serena she was wearing frilly robes and looking not very pleased about it as she followed Mrs. Palmer on her errands.

Cappie climbed into a carriage and leaned out the window to talk with Audrey some more about the Septenary's reconstruction schedule, Audrey gladly informed him that it would be done by Christmas because of funding from the Ministry that she referred to as a political move.

While Cappie turned his attentions to peering over her head to look for his little blonde friend, Audrey noticed the crowd of redheads gathering a carriage down and smiled. The Weasleys were about to send Ginny and Hermione off for their final year. This would be their last trip to the platform for several years and it had been turned into a family bonding opportunity. Molly was hugging her only daughter with such affection that Audrey was afraid Ginny would be snapped in two. Arthur was cleaning his glasses with a fond smile at his only daughter.

Ron had buried his face somewhere in Hermione’s bushy brown hair during their farewell hug, Harry seemed to be trying to look anywhere else and was making a real effort to hide behind various Weasleys from various passersby, causing Audrey to giggle.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as Cappie shouted, "Serena! Over here!"

The bobbing head of blonde hair was trying to extract herself from the soft, loving arms of one Violet Palmer as her son Tony laughed at the girl behind his mother’s back. Serena was reaching out to grab him in a desperate bide for freedom, but Tony Palmer was wiser then his years and refused to get involved. Audrey turned her attention to the other side of the platform, not wanting to bear witness to Serena’s escape.

Conveniently, this put a particular Weasley in Audrey’s line of sight. Percy was supporting himself with a cane for the long walk through the station, looked over at her and smiled. Audrey felt her face growing a bit warm as she waved back before turning her attention to the girl who had appeared behind her.

"How are you Serena?" Audrey asked kindly.

Serena scowled as she played with the frilly sleeves of her pretty purple robes. She looked no worse for her tussle for freedom. Audrey thought the robes made her look a bit like plum. Serena pulled herself into the carriage and leaned out the window before answering. "I'm fine, really."

Audrey smiled slightly.

The train whistled loudly and the wheels began to turn. "You'll write won't you?" Cappie shouted so Audrey could hear him as she jogged next to the window and through the crowd of redheaded people.

"Promise!" Audrey shouted as she stopped at the edge of the platform and waved until it disappeared into the distance.

She stayed until the smoke faded into the air before turning back to walk through the heavy crowd of parents who flittered between anxious and calm. The world was brighter, happier and better then what it was a year ago, but the fears and scars of war were not far from the surface. Wounds would fade to scars, and scars would soon become a symbol of triumph over tragedy and suffering. No force on earth could turn back the hands of time rewrite the world and the brutality of history, but people could push forward, remember the dead and make progress for those whose lives had yet to begin over the coming years.

Audrey ducked and weaved through the mass of people and stepped into muggle London and felt for the first time in over a year, truly hopeful for the world to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this whole story initially in high school ten years ago, so I have a long history with this story. It's been edited since then (six years later and a more gentle edit now) but the main plot points and a lot of the emotional beats survived the editing process. Clearly I was a dark sixteen year old librarian with ideas above what I was capable of at the time. Safe to say this will be my final edit of this story and it seemed fitting to coincide that with a move to AO3. I have told the story I wanted to tell in a way that finally makes me proud.
> 
> This story has an immediate sequel that covers the month of July that follows Ron as he finds himself in the more academic aspects of Auror training. We'll see familiar faces and tie up loose ends from this story beginning on May 30th. 
> 
> Because pandemic. College. And I have library hours again, curbside service is beautiful but people still can't read signs. 
> 
> I would like to thank everyone who has stuck around this long and look forward to seeing you all again in a couple of weeks. Stay safe!


End file.
